Turn On The Lights
by LittleXio
Summary: "I've never felt sorry for you, Helga. And no one ever should." Helga's life has never been easy, but at the peak of her high school completion, she suddenly finds herself homeless and with less friends than fingers. Can she save herself and make her dreams come true? (Rating for language, nudity, and sexuality)
1. To A Stranger

Turn On The Lights

Chapter One: To A Stranger

Helga sat on her tiny bed, momentarily alone. She flipped idly through a photo album, inspecting the pictures inside. She frowned slightly at every scowling picture of her, her hideous unibrow taunting her now. How she had ever gone on so long with it was a mystery to her. She slammed the album shut and stood before the full length mirror hanging on her closet door. Today was Friday, the day before winter break started. She had to look her best for the occasion. Usually she wouldn't, no, couldn't give two shits about looking good to impress her classmates, but today was no ordinary day. Today there was a winter pageant, basically a talent show, and she would be a reading a poem for her classmates. She wanted to blow them out of the water.

So there she stood in her underthings, trying to imagine what Rhonda would make her wear. She wanted to look cool but still not freeze her ass off. She pulled on some pure black skinny jeans and a pink and grey baseball shirt. She stared at her long wavy hair; it was half way down her back now. She pulled her hair into her class pigtails, but lower on her head. She took out her flat iron and styled her bangs into a nice swoop and pinned them back. She threw on some grey knee high converse, grabbed a thick coat, and headed downstairs.

"Mirium! I'm going to school!" She shouted.

"Okay, Mees Pataki, okay!" A tiny, older woman answered as she appeared at the foot of the stairs. Mr. Simmons had threatened to call DSS one year when he saw Helga open a lunch box featuring such delicatessants as: packing peanuts, toothpaste, ham slices, and stale crackers. Big Bob, fearing bad publicity for his growing company, immediately hired Helga a nanny. This nanny's name was Mirium, which Helga found endlessly amusing. Mirium was a kind older woman, very grandmotherly, and spoke with a thick accent. Whenever Big Bob was out on his work related travels, this was the only time Mirium felt comfortable enough to speak freely, she told Helga dramatic stories of adventure attempting to leave her homeland of Cuba and getting to the United States. Helga's wellness in the home had increased tenfold since her appearance there as Mirium actually packed healthy lunches, helped with homework, and spent time with her. Of course, as Helga was now eighteen and a senior in high school, Mirium remained as more of a maid and secretary.

"I'm late Mirium, no need for breakfast." Helga waved off the hot plate Mirium was attempting to hand her.

"Ah, this is no problem. This then." She handed Helga a Tupperware container with sections, eggs, toast, fruit, cookies. Helga stared in awe, as always, surprised by Mirium's thoughtfulness on this day. She truly went beyond "maid" standards. She was sweet and caring, which always and forever touched Helga's heart.

"Mirium." Helga paused to catch the knot in her throat. Mirium smiled softly.

"Thank you." Helga hugged the short woman, planted a kiss on her cheek, and flew out the door to catch the bus.

Helga barely made it. She didn't care. This was her system. Wake up after slamming the snooze button three times, shower like a mad woman, blow dry her hair, put on the clothes Rhonda made her buy, pull her hair back, scarf down food, and almost miss the bus. It was a perfect system. She felt more rested than all the other girls on the bus, especially Rhonda.

She snuggled down comfortably into her seat, kicking her feet up and popping open her to-go breakfast. Just as she started shoveling some into her mouth, someone tried to push past her legs.

"Excuse me Helga." She glared up at the intruder on tradition.

Arnold, of course. Instantly she felt light-headed.

Arnold had gotten more handsome, if at all possible. Helga had remained stubbornly tall as a teenager, at least a good head over most of the girls in her class, but Arnold had somehow managed to one up her. He had also gotten into the swim team in high school, so he had that tall, broad shoulders, lean body thing going for him. He was still beautifully tanned with cornflower yellow hair. She realized she'd been staring way too long with her mouth open and her fork dangling two inches away.

"No, excuse _you_ Arnoldo." She strained her leg muscles to keep him from pushing past her to the empty seat that belonged to Phoebe.

"How long have we known each other?" She demanded, pointing rudely into his face. Arnold sighed, his body jolting forward as the bus started up again.

"Since kindergarten, but-"

"So who's sat next to me on the bus for the better part of twelve years?" Helga interrupted.

"Phoebe but-"

"But nothing, football head! Tradition is tradition, my friend. Ain't no arguing with that." She settled back down in her seat without looking at him.

"But Helga, there's literally no seats except for the one next to Eugene. And not even I can take it anymore." He pleaded.

Eugene retched somewhere in the background.

"I'm okay!" He called out pathetically.

"Yeah ya are." Helga smirked.

"Please Helga! Please?" Arnold begged. Helga could no longer resist. In her mind, she had held out long enough to make passerby believe she truly did not want him sitting next to her.

"Fine, free country football head." She sighed, pulling her knees up to her chest to let him pass. He brushed past her legs, sending tingles down her entire body.

"Ahem." She cleared her throat loudly. Arnold gave her a look as he sat down. Couldn't he tell that he made her girlhood crazy?

"Where's your book-bag at?" He asked innocently. Always so innocent.

"I left that sucker at home, where it belongs. Last day, Arnoldo. Ain't no body got time for that." She said smirking.

"Oh yeah, duh. So I guess you're all prepared for the winter pageant then?" He said.

"Yep, got that baby right up here in the old ticker." She tapped her temple and winked at him.

"That's great, Helga. I can't wait to hear it then." He smiled. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him but before she could question him, the bus stopped at Phoebe's stop.

"Shh football head!" She climbed on him, leaning on his odd head to press her face against the foggy glass. She didn't see her best friend outside.

The bus started moving again. She pouted and stopped crushing Arnold.

"Where's Phoebe?" She said quietly. Arnold shrugged but she ignored him, whipping out her phone to text Phoebe.

**Where u b ho?**

**Helga, you know how I feel about such texting lingo.**

Helga rolled her eyes.

**I soz. Where are you?**

**Gerald is driving me to school in his new car. I think he wanted to show it off to me but we've been stuck in morning traffic for an hour. lol**

**Oh, that's cool.**

**I'm sorry. Did I not tell you?**

**No worries, I know you get…distracted.**

**Helga! (#^.^#)**

**LULZ No worries, ice cream took your spot so I am gooooood. ;)**

**Cute. ;)**

"So where's Phoebe?" Arnold asked. Helga jumped, feeling guilty as she realized "ice cream" was sitting two feet away.

"She's riding with tall hair boy in his new car. The genius was trying to show it off by driving her to school at seven in the morning. We probably won't see them until after break." She laughed.

"I guess we're on our own then." Arnold said.

"Yeah, I guess so." Helga mused. Since high school began and breasts blossomed, the four of them had become inseparable. Since Helga and Phoebe were inseparable, and Gerald and Arnold were too, the group came together naturally when Gerald finally asked Phoebe out. They had classes' together, lunches together, and after school activities. It was them, the four amigos. As of late though, Phoebe had been ditching Helga with Arnold at the last minute almost purposely. She really hoped not. She wasn't completely blind to the fact that Arnold was talking to Lila lately. Thankfully there was no time for things to get awkward on their own as the bus was pulling up in front of their school.

"Let me walk you to your locker, Helga." Arnold said as they stood to join the crowd of kids also trying to get off the bus.

"Why Arnold? So I can put all books from my book-bag in there?" She laughed and shoved Eugene out of her way. She heard Arnold trip behind her and his hand shot out to grab her shoulder for support. She sighed happily.

"Well how about I walk you to class then? I don't really know what to do with myself since Gerald's ditched me last minute." He said to her back.

"So otherwise you wouldn't be walking me to class? Oh Arnold, you really know how to make a girl feel special." She teased as they stepped out onto the sidewalk.

"That's not what I meant." He blustered, clearly embarrassed.

"Don't even worry about it, football head. I have to head to the drama department so we can get ready for the pageant. But really, your offer was just _gallant_." She said sarcastically. She saluted him mockingly and turned on a heel to walk off without him.

Not that she wouldn't be more than willing to have Arnold walk her anywhere in the building, but probably not as a last resort since his best friend was AWOL. Sometimes she wondered if he wasn't an idiot after all.

HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA

"Welcome, stage players!" Miss Florencio announced dramatically as all the pageant participants filed into the cramped room behind the theatre hall's stage.

"I hope you are all as excited as I am for today's pageant. I truly believe it's going to be quite a spectacle. Now, I just need you all to line up accordingly and we can get this show on the road!" She said happily, clasping her hands together. Helga walked up behind Lila and Rhonda, as they were the act that went before her in the show.

"Hello there, Helga. You sure look punk rocker chick in that outfit." Rhonda fawned, baiting Helga for compliments.

"Well, I do suppose it's because of you, oh helpful fashionista." Helga said in a fake baby voice. Rhonda smiled happily.

"And hello as well to you, Helga. I'm ever so excited to hear your poem. It's very lovely and rhyming. It does put the picture of romance in my mind." Lila cooed in her sickeningly sweet voice. Helga forced a smile_. For Arnold_, she thought.

"Lila, you are just ever so kind. I'm excited to see your and Rhonda's dance too. I know you both have practiced for weeks on it." She willed it from within herself to fake this kindness to Lila. Lila smiled happily.

"That is ever so sweet of you Helga. I, and I'm sure Rhonda, truly appreciate your kind words of encouragement." She said. Rhonda gave Helga a look and Helga shrugged, smirking slightly. She found it endlessly hilarious that everyone else saw through her act with Lila except Lila and Arnold. But that was okay, because those were the only two people she was trying to fool with it.

"Alrighty then stage players! The audience has arrived and is settled, surely with bated breath in expectation for our show. So please, line up at the door. One act will go on stage, the second act will wait in the wings, and the others acts will wait in a neat and orderly line right here in this room. Any questions?" Miss Florencio asked enthusiastically. Everyone murmured nervously.

"No? Alright! On with the show!" She cried.

A girl named Alice was the first act with her trained dog. After her was a boy named Derek, who knows how to dance and fight with a bow staff. After him was Lila and Rhonda, doing a singing duet paired with a choreographed ballet dance. Helga stood nervously in the wing with Miss Florencio, watching the two girls flit about the stage in costume.

Helga was beginning to feel her nerves fray. She had read poems she'd written many times in front of her classmates, whether it be at the coco hut, drama readings, or poetry readings. However, she had never read one of her poems about Arnold or love. This time, she had decided to do so. Helga had given up a long time ago on managing to get Arnold to love her back. However, that didn't disappate the inspiration or love in her heart. It was their last year together before the looming college years. She wanted to get her feelings out there, so matter how anonymously it may be this way.

Even though she had decided her fate over a month ago, now as she stood on the threshold of admitting her passionate secret, or at least part of it, her stomach was rolling. The muscles in her arms and abdomen literally felt like rubber bands stretched pas the point of snapping.

"Helga, are you ready?" Miss Florencio asked. She held out a hand to Helga while gesturing towards the stage. Lila flitted past them and the cement in Helga's veins unclogged. Her lungs filled with air again.

"Yes, I suppose I am." She said. Miss Florencio beamed at her and held the curtain back. Helga walked past her, feeling like a passenger in her own body. Before she knew it, she was standing at the microphone, the theatre lights blocking her sight of the audience. As far as she was concerned, she was alone.

She was standing in the shadows, hidden behind a corner, speaking her truths of love to no one and everyone. She grabbed the stand roughly, pulling the mic to her mouth.

"This poem is called, To A Stranger, by Helga G. Pataki." She said. It was deathly silent in the hall. She took a deep breath.

"Passing stranger!" Her voice boomed into the emptiness. She heard a gasp but ignored it. She continued.

"You do not know how longingly I look upon you,

You must be he I was seeking, or she I was seeking, (it comes to me, as if a dream)

I have somewhere surely lived a life of joy with you,

All is recall'd as we flit by each other, fluid, affectionate, chaste, matured,

You grew up with me, were a boy with me, or a girl with me,

I ate with you, and slept with you – your body has become not yours only, nor left my body

mine

only,

You give me the pleasure of your eyes, face, flesh, as we pass-you take of my beard,

breast,

hands, in return,"

She paused as an idiot snickered, but continued softly now, mournfully.

"I am not to speak to you-I am to think of you when I sit alone, or wake at night, alone,

I am to wait-I do not doubt I am to meet you again,

I am to see to it that I do not lose you."

She ended dramatically, hanging her head to signal the end of her poem. The audience clapped and Gerald could be heard wolf-whistling.

"I don't get it." Harold said loudly. Helga laughed as she bowed and left the stage.

HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA

"What a beautiful poem, so eloquently put and moving. Very sweet and yet, sad. I loved it." Phoebe clapped smiling.

"Yeah, I didn't get it but I'd rather Helga get all that pent up negative energy out this way." Gerald laughed and whistled loudly again.

"Who was that poem about, Phoebe?" Arnold asked. He had heard some of her poems before at the coco hut but none as forward as this last one. She was clearly trying to get a message out to someone in the audience.

"Arnold, I don't know." Phoebe blushed. "That's not the point. It's not about who the stranger is, it's about the message she wants to get across."

"Was the message, "Be sad as hell?"" Gerald asked and snickered. Phoebe shot him a look.

"Try to have a romantic bone in your body?" She squeaked in her mad voice. She glared at him until he put up his hands in surrender still grinning. She looked back at Arnold and continued.

"It's about loving someone so deeply, so thoroughly, that the two people become so intertwined that the sense of self ends. You can't tell where the other begins and where you end. He and she become one and the definitions of the words become lost. Your love joins you into one. But you wouldn't understand things like that, would you Gerald?" Phoebe turned up her nose and crossed her arms. Gerald rolled his eyes and slouched down into his seat.

"So who's the only person Helga doesn't talk to?" Arnold said curiously, ignoring his feuding friends as he sat up in his seat to survey the theatre hall. Phoebe scoffed and grabbed his arm to pull him back down.

"Don't be so literal Arnold. It doesn't mean she literally never talks to the stranger, it just means she never says what she actually wants to say to him." She paused, giving a shuddering sigh. "I love you, of course."

"Oh." He said vaguely. He pondered this piece of information as the next act came on stage. Rough and tough Helga, queen of bullies, was head over heels for someone, by the sound of it, from their childhood class. Somewhere out there, some guy had inspired the vengeful woman to drop old Betsy and the five avengers and write poetry and get weak at the knees. He couldn't resist. He had to figure out this out of character secret. He had to know who could soften her this way. But who? Harold? No way, she hated his guts. Brainy? But why would she be so angsty about a guy who clearly liked her? Gerald? He glanced over at his best friend who had won Phoebe over again and was having her canoodle into his shoulder. No way, Phoebe seemed to know who the passing stranger was. Stinky? He paused on that one. They did date for a while there last year but she had dumped him.

He shook his head. He'd figure it out yet.

HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA

Author's Note: Hello there. This is my first published fanfiction, so any reviews or critiques are helpful and wanted. :)

p.s. The poem in my story was not written by me. It is actually called, "To A Stranger" but it was written by Walt Whitman. I cannot write poety, so I temporarily borrowed it and refuse any credit for it. I also in no way own Hey Arnold! I am simply borrowing it's characters to flesh out my own perverted thoughts. lol


	2. Every Night I See Those Flashing Lights

Turn On The Lights

Chapter Two: Every Night I See Those Flashing Lights

The bell finally rang for the last time. The dull roar of students cheering and stampeding through the halls could be heard. Helga smiled as she joined the crowd, watching the ridiculous freshman running to the buses. They ran everywhere, apparently they were always late. She ambled along, thinking to herself and ignoring all the white noise around her. The art students had fawned all over her poem. A lot of them correctly derived it's meaning, which pleased her. She was a little nervous now to get on the bus and potentially sit alone on a bus seat with the inspiration of her love poems. She hoped the anonymous stranger hadn't been too obvious. She plopped down in her usual seat, watching the front of the bus out of the corner of her eye for bright yellow hair. Just as she was getting nervous that he had realized her poem was about him and had run for it, there he was. Just as he neared her, she put up her feet defiantly.

"Helga." He sighed.

"What are the magic words?" She smirked at him from under half-lidded eyes. He sighed again, rolling his eyes this time.

"Please, oh talented and inspirational bard." He grumbled. She nodded in acceptance and dropped her legs.

"You may pass." She said solemnly, bowing her head slightly. He dropped into the seat and gave her a dirty look. She smiled in an annoying fashion right back at him.

"Your poem was really good, Helga. I can't believe you wrote that." He said.

"Aw, your faith in me is truly moving, football head." She laughed as her heart ached for a moment.

"I didn't mean it that way. You're just soo…rough sometimes."

_You have no idea_, Helga thought.

"Yeah well, pretty things come from ugly things all the time, _Arnoldo_. Check nature out sometime." She snapped at him, crossing her arms.

"Helga." He said sternly.

"Just forget it, Arnold." She sighed heavily. "Before you stick your foot any further down your throat, let's pretend like I have feelings for a second because that was just so insulting."

She jumped up from her seat just in time for the bus to stop on her corner.

"I'll see you later, Arnold." She said flippantly as she walked down the aisle.

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Helga stood before her dark blue apartment staring up at its depressing frame, the bane of her existence which she did not want to enter. She could hear the rumble of the bus as it started up again, the smell of the black exhaust belched forward filled her lungs, and she could feel the prickly tingle of Arnold's guilty gaze piercing the back of her neck. She ignored it and did not turn around or enter until she was sure the bus was out of sight. When it turned the corner and disappeared, she fell against the steps and watched the passerby.

She realized she had been a little hard on the guy. Sometimes he really didn't seem to think his words through before opening his mouth around her. Of course she knew how crazy it was for a decked in black and pink bully tomboy to spew forth passionate love poems. But it stung when the person responsible for them pointed it out. She shook her head angrily, hoping to clear her head of him and stood up to go inside. Thankfully it was much warmer and dryer inside. She immediately shed her coat and walked into the kitchen to look for a snack. Mirium was already in there, as usual. She was rushing around the kitchen whipping up…black coffee.

Helga groaned and dropped herself onto a bar stool. Mirium looked at her apologetically and took the cup into the living room. So it would seem that Big Bob was finally home from his extended business trip. Just peachy.

"Helga!" Big Bob boomed. Speak of the devil…

She got up and dragged her feet purposely the entire way. She leaned against the doorframe, not entering the room and crossing her arms. At least he had gotten her name right for once. He swung around in his armchair to meet her boring gaze. Mirium stood at his side with a pained look on her face.

"Well there you are girl! Come give your old dad a hug!" He said grinning with his huge arms held out for her. Helga stared at him for a whole minute. Did he seriously think she was going to buy this sudden appearance of sappy crap? His arms sagged slightly.

"I think I'm good. What do you want?" Helga said flatly. Bob cleared his throat and adjusted his collar.

"Helga, you like having Mirium around, right?" Bob said, still smiling that big fat cheesy smile usually reserved only for his biggest customers. The real Miriam stirred from her sleeping spot on the couch. Mirium shook her head ever so slightly.

"Uh, yeah. She's the best. Why?" Helga said.

"So what if you could keep her around and anyone else you might need for the rest of your life?" He grinned. Mirium shut her eyes sadly. Helga shifted on her two feet. She was starting to feel uncomfortable with where this conversation was going.

"Uh…" Was all she could think to say.

"Helga, I am offering you a once in a lifetime opportunity here. I want you to become my apprentice at Big Bob's Beepers and Electronics. You'll become my successor once I retire and make millions from the company. Then you can have a mansion, a pool, money, and you can fill it with people like Mirium here!"

He jumped up and rested both hands on her shoulders.

"Come on Helga. Do this for me. I need someone to carry on the company now that I'm getting along in years. And it's not like I have a son or anything to carry on the empire I worked so hard to build." He shot Miriam a nasty look on the couch as she gave a loud snort.

"You're my last option Helga. Do it, do it for me. Become my apprentice. I asked your sister but she's too busy writing a concierto or some crap. But you, you can be different from her. You can be the future of my company. Just do it, can you do this for me?"

Helga stared at him completely appalled by his offer.

"Dad, have you been listening to me at all these past couple of years? You signed off on all the classes I was taking. I want to become a _writer_, maybe even a journalist. I want to travel the world and get to know the people around it. How could you possibly think I would want to run an electronics business?" She plucked his fingers from her shoulders in disgust.

"I thought it was just a phase. I thought if we let you indulge it a little, it would pass. Your mother told me all that psycho-babble crap." He shrugged. Miriam held up a finger to say something but passed back out into her pillow.

"No dad, it's not just some freaking phase. I have at least twenty books upstairs, all of which you paid for, filled to the brim with poetry and stories. And you seriously thought I would pass that up for some mp3 players and laptops?" She demanded.

"But I'm guaranteeing you millions!" He shouted back.

"Not. Interested." She said through her teeth. He stood there dumbfounded, his mouth open.

"What did you just say to me?"

"Not. INTERESTED!"

SMACK!

Helga stood there, stunned, her head tilted to the side now. Her check was on fire. He had hit her, struck her, right in the face. Blood rushed to her screaming cheek.

"How dare you? HOW DARE YOU! You insolent little brat, you waste of space since you were born! You're going to waste your life on…on fucking _books_ when I'm offering you the chance to make millions carrying on MY legacy?" He roared. She was frozen in place by shock. Her father had actually hit her. He'd threaten to do so many times. He'd shouted insults at her, shoved her, broken her things, and held gifts over her head. But finally, here they were. He had finally hit her.

"I've given you everything in this world and this is how you repay me? Spit in the face of my money that's made your life so comfortable with starving artist's dreams?"

Something in her snapped. No one talked to Helga G. Pataki that way.

"Yeah well, it's a hell of a lot better than selling my soul for ELECTRONICS and making my significant other so miserable around me that they have to drink themselves into oblivion just to stay sane!" She yelled back.

Miriam rose up a hand in acknowledgement.

"Oh, and can I get a side order of having a nanny raise the kid I can't even remember the name of please?" Helga spat.

"You bitch!" He swore. He moved toward her again but Helga was ready this time. She ducked to the left, grabbed an umbrella leaning against the wall, and swung it around to connect with Bob's head with a sweet CRACK. He stumbled, gripping the side of his head as he spit out a stream of obscenities. Blood dripped down his neck. He pulled his hand away from his head and stared at it. Helga froze at the sight of it. What had she done?

"Dad, I-"

He moved towards her again.

"Enough!" Mirium boomed. Suddenly she was between them, her hands up against each one. They glared daggers at each other over her head.

"Enough." She whispered. He was panting heavily. So was she, she realized.

"Get out." He growled under his breath.

"Meester Pataki." Mirium started.

"NO!" He bellowed. "Get out! Right now!"

Helga threw away the umbrella. She stalked past him and towards the front door.

"'elga!" Mirium cried. Helga looked back to see her trapped behind Bob's massive frame.

"Get out, as is." He snarled. He pulled his wallet out forcefully from his pocket and threw a fistful of twenties at her.

"Don't come back here." He said coldly. She snatched up the money, threw on her coat, and disappeared out the door.

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How dare he? Who the _fuck_ did he think he was to just dismiss her dreams and ambitions for some stupid piss poor excuse of an offer? And then to say he'd only come to her second after Olga? That ass! And he hit her. No one hit Helga G. Pataki, not even her own father. Her blood boiled as her cheek stung in reminder. She stomped angrily in the direction of Phoebe's house. He'd be sorry. Once he calmed down, the substandard Miriam would talk some sense into him and the police would be scouring the block within the hour. Easy peasy.

She was still angry though and didn't realize how fast she must have been walking when she ended up at Phoebe's stoop in no time. She rang the doorbell and waited. She rang it again. No one answered. She knocked a couple times. She rang again. She leaned annoyingly on the bell. Still, no one answered. She called Phoebe and got her voicemail.

"You have reached the voicemail box of Phoebe Heyerdahl." Her squeaky little voice announced.

"Gerald and I are currently staying at the Little Whinging resort for the winter break. If I don't answer, please leave a detailed message and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks!" She chirped. BEEP!

Helga snapped her phone shut. She had completely forgotten all about Phoebe and Gerald's anniversary getaway. She was starting to feel a little nervous. Her anger was cooling off and the cold was starting to creep into her toes and fingers. She suddenly realized she had no other friends. She couldn't think of a single warm place she could go to wait until her dad came to his senses. Phoebe knew her home situation, no one else did and she didn't feel like explaining it at the moment.

She started walking aimlessly. Walking kept her warm. So where could she go then? Green's Meat? And what, stand around? Her clothes and hair would never stop stinking like meat. The flower shop? No, then she'd had to buy something. The library? No, she might see her classmates there and they'd question her presence. The coffee shop? Why not. She got a hot chocolate there and sat by the window. She waited, perking up when a cop car drove by but they didn't stop and get out. The sun had long set.

"Alright girl, you've been nursing that cup all afternoon. You gotta go." The waiter said as he wiped down tables.

"Can't I stay? I'll buy another if that's the problem." She pleaded.

"No can do little lady. We're actually closing up. You don't have to go home but you can't stay here." He chuckled at his own joke and walked away. The lights dimmed overhead. She gulped down the last dregs of her chocolate and rose to stand outside. She buried her hands in her pockets and watched the last people on the streets scurry home. They probably wanted to get out of the cold, cuddle up under some blankets, maybe with someone special. She checked her phone for the hundredth time. It was ten o'clock at night and she didn't have a single call from either her parents or Phoebe.

Helga suddenly felt very alone standing on a cold, dark street. Bob was clearly not going to change his mind. Thought she had been avoiding the idea all afternoon, Helga suddenly realized she was facing the very real possibility of sleeping on the streets of Hillwood with nothing but a coat and a pocket full of twenties.

She was frightened. She was completely alone, and it was all her own doing. Maybe if she hadn't been so mean to her childhood friends, she could be sitting in Nadine's living room or Rhonda's room eating cookies and gossiping. But no, she was a bitch and standing alone on a dark road shivering to death. Who could she go to now?

The answer came to her, so obvious now. She rushed off.

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Author's Note: I'm sure you were all waiting for a little action, so I hope I delivered this time. lol As always, reviews are always appreciated and wanted. :)


	3. We Both Know It's A Cruel World

Turn On The Lights

Chapter Three: We Both Know It's A Cruel World

It was dark in the Sunset Arms Boarding House and finally, if not rarely, silent. Arnold walked quietly through the house with a glass of water in hand. This was his favorite time. He could actually enjoy the antique familial home he lived in. He took in the homeyness of it all, let it seep into his lungs without interruption. His father had grown up in this house, walked this same path, he was sure. He saw the familiar photo hidden, his mother and father, smiling forever.

"I miss you guys, did you know that?" He whispered. They smiled on.

"Where did you go?" His question hung in the air. They smiled as he climbed the stairs. He reached his grandparents door. He pressed his ear to the door and listened. Two snores. Grandma had done much better that day. Still he worried but he moved along.

He sipped his water and placed it on his bedside table. It hadn't been the best day. First Gerald had ditched him in the morning, then he'd be fantastically rude to Helga, and he had to spend most of his afternoon coaxing his grandma out of the 1920's. He climbed into bed and crushed his eyes shut with his hands until little white spots popped on the dark side of his eyelids. His mind lingered on the Helga thing. He hadn't meant to insult her, but it happened all the time when he was around her. Whenever he was hanging out with her, he would word vomit until she got pissed (which didn't really take that long), insult him, and somehow make _him_ feel guilty over the whole thing. Really, he just felt stupid. Why couldn't he have just said, "Lovely poem, Helga. Is it about me?"

His eyes popped open at that last odd little thought. Where did that come from? Her face peered down at him from his skylight. He stared back at her. Had his thoughts somehow formed into physical existence? She tapped the glass. The sound was real. He jumped up, going to unlock the window for her.

"Helga! What are you doing here so late?" He asked surprised. She was shivering violently and covered in wet snow.

"T-Taking a walk?" She stuttered.

"On my roof?" He exclaimed.

"F-F-Free country." She bit out. He glared at her as he took her coat off.

"Helga…" He scolded.

"I had nowhere to go, okay?" She exploded suddenly. She burst into wild tears. He was shocked; he didn't know what to do around any crying girl, especially his personal lifetime bully. He guided her down to his bed and sat her down. She snatched up his blankets to cover herself and continued to weep.

"What happened Helga?" He asked.

"Bob!" She burst. "He threw me out on the street like a fucking dog. He wanted me to give up being a writer and start studying under him to take over Big Bob's Beepers and Electronics instead. I told him no way and he just hit me! Right in the face! And Miriam was passed out drunk right there on the couch and Mirium couldn't do anything and he was coming at me again so I hit him, real good too. He bled. And he kicked me out. I've got nothing, except this."

She unfurled her hand to reveal a wad cold wet twenties.

"And Phoebe's out of town and you were the only other person I could think of." She sniffled.

He was speechless. He'd had no idea things were so bad at the Pataki house. He was also extremely surprised at how open she was being with him right then. She was usually very defensive and just plain mean whenever anyone tried to get too close. But here she was, curled up under his blankets, sniffling with big, wide eyes with so much hurt and sadness in them that he barely recognized her.

"Helga, I-" What could he say?

"Oh Arnold." She whimpered and threw her arms around his neck. He put his hands on her back awkwardly, rubbing gently as her frame shook with silent tears. He could feel his shirt getting wet.

"Helga, I know Phoebe's out of town for a while but there's more than enough room here. You could stay with me as long as you wanted."

She pulled back and looked him full in the face with wet eyes.

"Really? You would do that for me?" She said softly.

"Of course, Helga. That's what I'm here for."

She nodded slowly and buried her face in his shoulder again.

"You can stay here with me. My grandpa's so busy with grandma, he won't even notice, okay?" He said trying to be reassuring.

"Okay." She mumbled. He rubbed her back one last time.

"In the meantime, how about some shut eye? You can take the bed and I'll take the couch." He said standing.

"No way." She pouted. "I won't put you out of your own bed. _I'll_ stay on the couch."

"Helga," He said clearly pained. "How can I possibly let you stay on the couch? You're the guest, don't even worry about it."

She crossed her arms and glared at him even through her tears. "I said no way, football head."

"Helga." He groaned. She got up, threw a pillow on the floor, and started to settle down with her back to him.

"Ugh, Helga. What if we share the bed? A compromise?" He pleaded. She paused in the middle of fluffing her pillow and turned to look at him.

"Are you okay with that?" She asked surprised. It wasn't exactly a secret at school that Arnold had never "had a girl" in his bed before.

"It's not like I'm a prude, Helga." He laughed. "Besides, I've know you forever, we're practically related."

She cringed slightly.

"You okay?" He asked, reaching out for her. She smacked his hands away.

"I'm fine, it's just my face. It…hurts."

He knelt on the floor with her and took her cheek gingerly in his hand. She shivered underneath it. He wondered if his hands were cold. The skin on her cheekbone was split a little and her cheek was swollen. He felt sick to his stomach. Helga had bullied Arnold for over twelve years and even _he_ knew she could never deserve this.

"I'll get you some ice." He said softly. He stood and she tried to argue.

"No, no seriously. Ice pack. And are you hungry?"

She fell silent, looking away from him.

"Yeah, I thought so. I'll be right back, okay?"

He crept quietly downstairs to the kitchen. He searched in vain for an ice pack but couldn't scrounge one up so he pulled out the ingredients for a sandwich. As he put them together, his thoughts wandered back to the old school friend sitting in his room. Rough and tough Helga G. Pataki was sitting in his room with a split cheek, crying on his shoulder. If you had told him that this afternoon, he would have laughed. But here he was, making her a ham and cheese sandwich with grapes and chips. He carried his gift up to her.

"I'm back." He sang. He could see her curled up on his bed with her back to him and the blankets over her head. Her nose poked out.

"Alright, I made this special so come on." He said as he put the meal on the side table. She turned over and looked suspiciously. He laughed.

"It won't bite, okay? I'm not you." She shot him a look and snatched up the sandwich but not without revealing a tiny smile. She ate it in four bites, inhaled the chips, and gulped down the grapes with a swallow of water. Content, she rolled over again to face the wall.

"I'm tired." She said softly. The sadness had crept back into her voice again. He lay down beside her facing away and careful not to touch her.

"That's okay. Let's sleep now. We can figure everything out tomorrow."

"Okay." She said. "Oh, and Arnold?"

"Yes Helga?"

"…Thank you." She said finally. His breath caught.

"You're welcome." He got out finally. Today was just full of surprises.

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Arnold awoke slowly, feeling slightly disorientated. Although he was in his own room, something was throwing him off. Then he remembered he was not alone this time. He realized Helga had turned over in the night and had her nose nuzzled between his shoulder blades, though not touching him at all in any way otherwise. He felt…touched by this tiny sign of affection from her. He lay there for a few minutes enjoying it, not wanting to get up just yet and possibly wake her when he was reminded of his morning friend. He groaned quietly, annoyed by this. It would be extremely embarrassing should Helga wake up and see his morning wood. He'd never hear the end of it from her. He got up as slowly and quietly as humanly possible. He looked back at her as he reached the door She was curled up on her side. Her lips were parted slightly and her wavy blonde hair was a mess around her head. She actually looked kind of peaceful, a first look for him. Nature's trick, he thought. A beautiful sleeping bear that snarls and bites when awake. He chuckled to himself as he headed to the bathroom.

He turned on the shower and jumped gratefully into its warmth. He looked down at his excited member and sighed. He had a feeling this was going to make the sleeping arrangements awkward. Otherwise, he really didn't feel too weird about sharing his bed with her. Yeah, she had outgrown that awkward little girl phase and unibrow and inherited Olga's curvy figure but she was still the same old surly girl she ever was on top of that. He recognized though that they'd always had an unusual relationship. They were friends, very close friends actually, who over time and years had confided much to each other. He was, as always, more than happy to help an old friend out. He was also grateful that even though Helga had shut her soul off to anyone but Phoebe, that she had opened up and confided in him. He knew how rare this opportunity was and was not about to take that for granted. Though he had always suspected there was more to the tough girl act, he now completely understood where it came from.

He leaned against the tiled wall with his forearm, looking at his morning wood. It would not go down like it normally did when he took his morning shower. He wondered idly why that might be as he grasped himself. He had some time before work anyways. He stroke himself and thought of Lila. Though he had never seen her naked before, just in a bathing suit when the gang would go to the beach, he had seen enough pictures of naked women to imagine what she might look like. He pictured creamy pale skin, some freckles dusted here and there, perky breasts, pink nipples, full hips. He groaned, close to finishing. Then it happened. She popped into mind. Helga, in his bed, pink lips, messy hair in her face, her breasts pushed together by her curled sleeping position. His eyes popped open as he came. The water immediately rinsed away the evidence. He shook his head angrily.

He didn't know why that happened to him. It wasn't actually the first time. He'd asked Gerald about it but as usual, Gerald was a gutter minded guy who provided no real insight. Gerald just pointed out that Helga had gotten a million times hotter since the fourth grade and that even though she was a terror, it wasn't completely crazy to have her pop up in his fantasies. Gerald even went so far as to admit that he'd found himself spanking it to every single female classmate of theirs at least once. He said he would never date them in a million years and that he was deeply in love with Phoebe, but he was a hot blooded teenage boy who noticed and appreciated all kinds of hotness.

Of course Arnold had just agreed and went along with whatever Gerald had said but truthfully? He never found himself fantasizing about all the girls in his class at some point. He would always start out fantasizing about Lila but somehow, Helga would pop in there. It was odd. He shook his head and shut off the water.

He toweled off and changed into his uniform in the bathroom as to avoid making Helga feel uncomfortable. He climbed the steps to his room and knocked before entering.

"Arnold?" She asked. She sat at the edge of his bed in her rumpled clothes from the night before. She rubbed an eye and peered at him cautiously with the other.

"Hey, good morning." He said cheerfully.

"I don't know about how good it is but okay." She said dryly. She pinched her shirt and pulled it forward.

"Listen, I gotta go work a shift at Slausen's so I can't stay too long. I should be back here around three though, and then we can try to make you a little more…comfortable." He said watching her sniff her shirt.

"What am I supposed to do until then?" She said letting her shirt snap back. He swallowed dryly, remembering the low v-neck of her shirt. He suddenly felt extremely guilty having masturabated a few moments ago while having her on his mind.

"Um, I don't know. I have a laptop on the desk. The password is Lila." He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. She got up to inspect his laptop with her back to him.

"That's not much of a password there, Arnoldo." She quipped, rubbing her fingertips over its surface. His shirt suddenly felt a lot hotter.

"Well it is for my grandpa." He said feeling extremely awkward. He didn't know why there was suddenly tension in the air but he had a feeling this conversation was not going down a pleasant path for him. He changed the subject.

"I have a ton of books on the wall there if you want to look them over. I know you like to read. I don't have a TV in here, sorry, but the computer is linked up with the stereo system. You could play some music." He said. She continued to not acknowledge him as she perused the titles on his bookcase.

"Um. Well anyways, like I said, when I get back we can work on that. I just need you to stay in here until then, okay?" He suddenly felt like he was pleading with her. He didn't know why.

"I've got it, football head. Stop worrying." She said sternly. She plucked a volume from the bookcase and flipped idly through its pages. He wanted to say something else, something reassuring, but the tension had him tongue tied. He decided to get out while he was ahead.

"Alright . Well I'll see you at three, okay?" He paused at the door. She waved half-heartedly, still not meeting his gaze as she continued to read. He shut the door behind him after a minute. Somehow, he had managed to upset her again, he knew it, and he couldn't help feeling worried that when three o'clock came again, he'd come home to an empty room.

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Author's Note: I trully appreciate all the reviews and people following. :)


	4. We Will Stand Tall

Turn On The Lights

Chapter Four: We Will Stand Tall

Arnold's taste in books kind of sucked. Of course he had several on the subject of anthropology, San Lorenzo, and what little was known about the Green Eyed People. These topics, although they did stir some sympathetic heartstrings for his obvious loss, did not interest her in the least. After that though, his bookcase was filled with every book in the Hardy Boys series by the look of it. He also seemed to own all the Artemis Fowl books, Harry Potter, and anything written by Stephen King. She realized quickly all of his books involved Indiana Jones type adventuring or mystery solving. She found that slightly amusing considering how much adventuring and mystery solving and shenanigans they had participated in as kids. However, Helga was more into fantasy novels, magic, fairytales, love stories. There wasn't a speck of those on his wall.

She sighed. It was only 7:40 in the morning. She shut the book in her hand and flopped back down on Arnold's bed. She realized she should be happier and reveling in the fact that she was staying in the room of the boy she liked and actually sleeping next to the guy at night. But in the end, she just felt hallow and extremely alone. Her entire family had turned their backs on her. They had never been supportive of her and had never tried to make her feel wanted or a part of their unit. But they had always suffered through her regardless. Now though, they were gone and she was alone. She'd never felt more alone actually, than in this moment. No amount of Arnold's presence could make that all go away. She rolled over and stared at an alarm clock with a tiny Arnold on top. She contemplated stealing the figure.

Arnold. He really was too kind to exist, taking her in like this despite her having tortured him for over a decade. She still wanted to call Phoebe but she knew if Phoebe knew what was going on, she'd cut her anniversary trip short and rush back home to take care of her. She couldn't do that to her best friend. Plus, secretly and selfishly, she wanted to stay at Arnold's for as long as possible. She looked down at herself still wearing the same clothes from the day before. She sighed loudly. She had to get some clothes. She couldn't hang around Arnold and be wearing the same clothes over and over. Should she try to go back home and get some things? The picture of Big Bob's enraged face; blood dropping down the side of his head came to mind. She shivered.

_No_, she thought. She wasn't going to let him scare her away. She got up and started pulling on her converse. It had only been a night. Bob couldn't have possibly have had time to change the locks yet. She glanced at the clock. 8am? Bob had already been at work for two hours. Miriam would be passed out on the couch from the night before. Mirium should be getting ready to leave to do the grocery shopping. She pulled on her coat and felt the house keys in her pocket. If she was quick, she could pull it off. She climbed up the steps leading to the skylight and climbed onto the roof. She stood there looking out at the skyline and groaned. Her toes were already cold. It was going to be a long walk.

Helga crouched behind a car across the street from the Pataki apartment. She had watched the house for thirty minutes after Mirium had left to start her errands for the day before crossing the street. She walked nervously up to the door and pulled out her key. She paused before she crammed the key in. It still worked. She turned it and heard the ominous click. She pushed the door open and crept inside. It was dark. She closed the door and crept forward.

Helga was all too familiar with her parent's routines. The mornings were Miriam's recovery time of the day. She would awaken after her drunk stupor in the afternoon only to start drinking again to put herself in a nice little trance before Bob would come home late from work, as usual. Maybe then they would kiss but usually he would just plop down in his armchair in front of the TV while she hovered in the background. When he finally called it a night, Miriam would collapse on the couch to watch old sappy black and white movies that she secretly wished her life was like. Then she would pass out and the cycle would continue the next day.

There was a dull glow of the television coming from the living room. Helga peered in. Miriam was asleep on the couch, of course, her glasses slightly askew. She rolled her eyes and tiptoed up the stairs to her room. Once inside, she shut the door behind her and looked around. Everything was still in its place. She wondered how long that would last before Bob destroyed it.

She flew to her closet and threw open the door. She gasped. It was empty. Had he thrown her clothes away? She spun around but caught sight of something on the bed. She walked over and saw her pink suitcase laying there. There was a note on top, just a red heart and Mirium's signature. She felt tears in her eyes. Mirium had known she would come back and had packed her a suitcase. She wiped her eyes and grabbed it. She hauled it down the stairs. Miriam didn't even budge as she went out the front door.

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As Helga attempted to lug her giant suitcase up Arnold's precarious fire escape, she wished she had stopped and waited somewhere until three o'clock so she could have walked through the front door with Arnold instead. But nooo, she had to be all independent and shit. Her suitcase was huge and judging by the weight of it, was filled to the brim with every article of clothing she owned. It had been easy enough to get over here since it had wheels. Sure she had gotten a couple of odd looks but hadn't she gotten them her entire life? But at this moment, she was now tugging it upwards. She was literally sweating in December under her heavy coat. She glared upwards at the roof. She could do this. Right?

Finally she made it through the skylight and threw the suitcase down onto the bed. She jumped down and threw it open. Her clothes popped out immediately, dying to escape from their cramped prison. She dug through them eagerly to find a bag of toiletries, some shoes, and underwear. She laughed and changed into some pajamas. She instantly felt cleaner and happier. She shoved the case onto the floor and stretched out comfortably on the bed. She stared up at the ceiling lost for a moment. Although she was more than happy that her mission had been a success, she realized she didn't know what to do now. She glanced at his clock to see that it was now around ten. She glanced over at his computer, where there lay a portal to Facebook and online gaming but she couldn't bring herself to think about typing in his ridiculously idiotic and crackable password. She rolled her eyes and briefly considered snooping in his room. He had to have some sort of journal or secret porno stash or something of equal embarrassing magnitude. Although she loved any opportunity to pick on him, she decided to forget the snooping. He was already being nice enough to take her in. She doubted she should press her luck any further, even with a guy like Arnold, considering he already had to suffer through her delightful presence 24/7.

So what was left for her? Although she was happy to have the suitcase, she realized she missed much more than that. She thought of the boxes of journals in her closet and her rather nice 11x14 sketchbook hidden beneath her bed. The picture of her ceiling high bookcase came to mind, filled with Christopher Pike, Diana Wynne Jones, Lemony Snicket, and Cornelia Funke to name a few. There was no way she could bring all those things here. She felt annoyingly home sick. She wandered aimlessly over to his desk and started opening drawers. Perhaps she could bring a little bit of that here.

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FIVE LONG ASS HOURS LATER

Helga laid spread out on the bed with a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other, the tip of which was being gnawed away between her teeth. She was reading over the bit of poem she had managed to write in the past couple of hours. It just wasn't going where she wanted it, which annoyed her. Inspiration was continuous with her, the side benefit of having an uncaring family and unrequited love. She knew it was because her emotions were scattered this way and that. One moment she was happy to be staying in the room of her love, sleeping beside him, getting to peruse his things with his permission for once. But then she would catch sight of her suitcase on the floor and the sadness would overwhelm her again. Although her family had never tried to reach out to her, include her, get to know her, or least make her feel like part of their unit, they had at least always suffered through her. But now, they had all turned their backs on her. She was finally alone, just like she'd always wanted, but it was ending up bothering her more than she had anticipated. Plus there was the broke as a joke bit. Bob wasn't lying, he had always made sure she had whatever she needed, discouraged her from having a job. Now she realized he had just been making her dependent on him so he could jerk her around whenever he wanted.

She sighed. She realized she was grieving, not only for the loss of her family but also on how that loss reflected on her. How pathetic must she be, that the only people in the world that were obligated to care about her didn't? How could anyone? She ripped the sheet off, balled it up, and aimed for the wastebasket beside the door. It, like the twenty before it, bounced off the rim and onto the floor along with its rejected sisters. Just then the door opened.

"Hey there." Arnold said smiling. He looked down at the mess at his feet and kicked a few papers towards her.

"Been keeping busy I suppose?"

"You could say that." She said vaguely. She kind of hoped he wouldn't pick any up and unfold them. Of course they were all love poems about him. Although she had finally learned her lesson years ago to stop putting his name or hers in them, it still made her nervous for him to read them.

"Hey Helga? Where did all this stuff come from?" He asked leaning over her suitcase.

"It was the weirdest thing. They were having a Helga Pataki sale down at the Goodwill. What are the odds, right?" She joked, trying to get rid of the dark look on his face as he looked down at it.

"Helga." He said sternly, not interested.

"Okay, okay, I got it from my house." She said casually inspecting the dirt beneath her fingernails. She had a feeling he wouldn't be too happy about that. Of course, after the silence had stretched on for an eternity, she had to stop looking at her nails and into his face. He was glaring at her.

"You went to your house alone?" He barked. She jumped, startled by his out of character fury. Was he...reprimanding her?

"Uh, yeah. I needed clothes." She said awkwardly picking at the bed sheets.

"Helga, how could you do that? What if Bob had been there? What if he had hurt you?"

"I know their schedules, _Arnoldo_. I'm not a _complete_ idiot. I knew they wouldn't be home and that Bob had no time to change the locks. I was in and out, no problem." She shrugged. She didn't understand why this was such a big deal to him. She was a big girl, she could handle herself.

"Couldn't you have at least waited for me?" He spluttered.

"If I can handle it on my own, I will Arnold. I won't ask for help unless I absolutely have to." She crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air. Honestly? There was no way in hell she would have let him come with her. What if Bob had been there for some reason? She couldn't imagine if he hit her in front of Arnold. How could she ever face him again? What would he think of her, his bully so weak she couldn't even face her own father? Plus she knew in her gut he would try to intervene and how could she live with herself if Bob hurt Arnold too?

"Yeah, no duh." Arnold rolled his eyes exasperated. "You just let things build until they explode and get out of hand."

"ARNOLD." She snapped sharply. His anger disappeared in a moment as alarm showed in his eyes.

"Do not pretend you know anything about my home situation. Got it?" She said waspishly. He took a step back and nodded.

"I wasn't trying to-I just-why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Phoebe knew." She grumbled looking away from him.

"You know what I mean Helga. Why didn't you ask anyone for help? Sure, we all knew it wasn't perfect. Whose family is? But no one knew it was that bad."

"Who would have helped me Arnold?" She challenged. "All they see when they look at me is a bitchy bully."

"Yeah, you're right. And whose fault is that?"

She glared at him but looked away saying nothing.

"You've been doing this for years, pushing all of us away. But if we had known, we would have just ignored that. We've all been friends for years. We're here for you, you have to know that."

She was silent as she stared at the bedspread. She was afraid, that was the truth of that matter. She didn't feel safe enough to be herself and open up to her own family, so of course her friends, even ones she'd known since kindergarten, were off limits. She didn't want to give them the opportunity to fail. To find out her secrets and jab her where it really hurt. It would kill her really, if she told them and they laughed or used it against her. She would die, the end.

"You know Helga, I know you must feel absolutely alone, like you can't depend on anyone for anything since your own family can't even do that for you." He paused. "But you are part of our group, no matter how nasty you get. And you can always depend on us."

She looked up at him finally. Tears streamed down her face. He smiled softly.

"Arnold," She drew in a deep breath. "Please don't tell Phoebe.

"What?!" He groaned.

"If you tell her, she will take me in. If she takes me in, she'll never leave in the fall for Princeton. I can't let that happen."

His expression softened for a moment.

"Helga..." He said gently. He sat down beside her, reaching out to hug her. The alarm bells in her head went off.

"No!" She pushed him away, like so many times before that. "I'm serious! I will live on the streets first! I can't do that to her. I care about her too much for that."

She hung her head, letting the tears fall into her open palms on her lap. She had already taken so much from Phoebe. This was the line, this is where she drew it. Phoebe had grown into herself, away from Helga, into an intelligent, independent woman. One blow could ruin all of that, and it wouldn't be dealt by her.

"Okay Helga."

Her head snapped up to his face.

"What?" She whispered.

"Okay. I will not tell Phoebe, or anyone for that matter. I swear." He said holding up his right hand and crossing his heart with the other. She stared at him. She didn't know why this promise surprised her so much. Of course he would keep a promise that condemned her to an unsure future so long as she martyred herself to lift her best friend up.

"Seriously?" She asked.

"Seriously." He said smiling.

She let out a shaky breath.

"Good, I'm glad we got that settled then." She said thickly. She fanned her face quickly hoping to cool down the puffiness and dry the wetness. She suddenly felt unbearably awkward. She could have counted the times she'd cried in front of Arnold, or anyone, on one hand before this week. But now, that's all she seemed to do in front of him. She got up quickly and plopped down with her suitcase to start folding up her clothes.

"I actually have a paper I need to work on if you don't mind. But I would like to ask you a favor before I start." Arnold said from behind her.

"I'm waiting then football head." She flippantly, trying to throw up the curtain she used so often with him. She heard the sound of him stand and kneel down beside her. He grabbed her shoulder and turned her around.

"If you have to, do not go back to your house without me. I know you're a strong woman, that you can handle yourself, but this is not about that. I need to know you're safe. I need to be there with you in case something happens. Can you do that Helga, for me?" He beseeched her, asking with that kind look in his eyes. He seemed genuinely concerned. Instinctively, she wanted to say no. She too wanted to keep him safe. But after the promise he had just accepted for her, how could she? Maybe Bob wouldn't react around an outside party.

"Okay. I can do that." She said. He nodded and stood.

"I appreciate that." He said sitting at his desk. He opened his laptop and let it turn on as he turned around in his desk chair.

"My closet over there is pretty empty. I hate hanging stuff up, I usually just cram it in the dresser. You're more than welcome to use it. Besides, I don't think I can stand the sight of that neon thing anymore." He said gesturing towards her suitcase. He ducked as a wad of socks flew past his oddly shaped head.

"Whoa! You're losing your edge there, Pataki." He teased.

"I'm just lulling you into a false sense of security. The pranks begin once you've fallen asleep." She said dragging her suitcase to the closet. He laughed heartily.

"And what are you going to do exactly? Put my hand in some warm water? I mean, it sounds like a great plan, except for the "me peeing all over you sleeping next to me" thing." He said laughing. She swung a hanger out at him but he kicked off the desk in time and rolled away.

"Nothing like that, football head. Not that I'm going to divulge my evil plans with you, of course." She said tipping her head towards him. She hung up her shirts and began folding pants over to do the same.

"But there are evil plans?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh yes. Don't think just because you've taken me in like a lost puppy that I'm going to start acting like one." She smirked.

"Well poo." He said and began typing. They fell into a nice silence. All that could be heard was the tapping of his keyboard and the shuffle of hangers being pushed together. She realized then that they were actually hanging out without screaming their heads off at each other. It was nice for once, to be able to joke around without it getting ugly. She smiled privately to herself as she glanced at his profile as he worked diligently. She knew it would be heaven for her but maybe it wouldn't exactly be a nightmare for him.

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Author's Note: I'm truly surprised by how many people are interested in my story. I'm very happy to hear your reviews and see that people are following. I hope you all continue to enjoy my story and I'd love to hear what parts are your favorites. :)


	5. The Quiet Scares Me

Turn On The Lights

Chapter Five: The Quiet Scares Me Cause It Screams The Truth

The days after that went oddly smoothly. They were surprised how easily their friendship translated to a temporary roommate scenario. Most mornings, Arnold would awaken, get ready for work, bring breakfast enough for two to his room, work seven or eight hours, and come home to either do schoolwork and/or watch TV with Helga. She lasted just that one day before demanding one. Every other night, one of them would pick a movie and then spend the time before bed critiquing it.

They constantly picked on each other of course. That hadn't changed at all. The only thing that had changed was any barbs beneath it. It was completely carefree and maybe even a little affectionate. Without the judgmental eyes of others upon them, it was easier to get along and actually enjoy the playful teasing.

They had just finished watching The Family Stone, one of Helga's favorites, when the real game began.

"Well, that was interesting." Arnold chuckled from his spot at the desk.

"Good, right?" Helga asked stretching out on the bed.

"Meh." He shrugged smirking. "I wouldn't say _good_ exactly."

She tossed a pillow at him and he ducked.

"What kind of dictatorship is this? I don't like your movie and I get beaten?" He teased, faking a horrified look.

"Yes, so get yourself back in line heathen." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Yes, sir!" He saluted her. "You know, I think I actually liked it."

"It was sad right? But sweet." She said as she turned around to have her head at the foot of the bed instead.

"You seem to like that." He said looking at her curiously. She propped her head up with a hand.

"I do, because it's real Arnold. Life is sad most of the time. And then sometimes, it's sweet. Personally, I like that the people you think were meant to be together get mixed up and end up with their complete opposites instead."

"I thought it was really sad how Everett didn't seem to know anything about Meredith considering they'd been dating for a while but he was chasing the idea of marriage with her anyways." Arnold said sounding troubled. She flopped onto her back then to look up at the ceiling, blowing little wisps out hair in and out of her face.

"Well, when you think about it, he never really got to know her did he? He just got it into his head about what he thought she was like, he projected this idea of what he thought he wanted onto her and that was what he was willing to chase. It took his soul mate popping up to shake his thinking around and get him to see clearly."

He crossed his arms and smirked at her.

"So what you're saying is he only sees what he wants to see?"

"Sounds like a man." She rolled back over and laughed at him.

"Well, it just seems like they should have gotten to know each other before he took her home to the family."

"Yeah, probably. Too bad he didn't know about the question game, huh?" She said tugging at the hair in her face.

"The question game?"

She stopped and stared at him.

"Oh God football head, don't tell me you haven't heard of the question game."

"I guess not, huh?" He said sarcastically. "Care to explain?"

"Well it's pretty simple, just like what it sounds. You ask a question, any question, and the other person had to answer it honestly. Then the first person answers it too. Then the second person asks a question and so on."

"Sounds easy enough." He shrugged.

"That's what everybody says." She giggled. He gave her an odd look and came over. She moved, sitting up at the top of the bed so he could sit at the end of it.

"So who goes first?" He asked. She tapped her chin thoughtfully and grinned devilishly at him.

"I think I should, since I'm the one familiar with the game. Lead by example, they always say right?" She said grinning. He looked apprehensively at her, clearly a little nervous.

"What's wrong football head? Scared of little ol' Helga?" She said in a baby voice. He raised an eyebrow at her and rolled his eyes.

"Shoot." He said. She grinned again and pulled her legs under her to sit Indian style.

"Okay. First question. Hmm, it's gotta be good." She tapped her chin again. She clapped her hands together suddenly.

"Okay, got it! How much money would it take for you to kill a puppy with a sledgehammer?" She asked. He groaned, letting his head fall back against the wall.

"Helga, seriously?" He said sounding annoyed. She giggled again and held up her hands.

"Alright, that was just a test. I guess we can't get that crazy so how about this? Have you ever smoked pot?"

"No, Sid offered me some once but I didn't feel like it."

"God, you're boring." She moaned.

"What about you?" He shot back.

"Nah, no one's offered me any, can you believe that? I'm about to graduate high school and no freaking idiot has offered me any weed." She said laughing.

"Alright, so not that bad right? You go now." She said smiling. He paused for a moment to think.

"What are you most insecure about?" He asked finally. She balked.

"You certainly know how to hit home, huh?" She said nervously. "Honestly?"

"Yes honestly." He said laughing.

She sighed, annoyed.

"I'm afraid that I am unlovable, that given the opportunity, everyone would dump me in a heartbeat." She said slowly. And there it was, that pitying look he always gave her.

"That's not true Helga." He said softly, reaching out for her hand. She snatched it away.

"That's why it's called an insecurity." She grumbled. "What about you?"

"Me?" He paused. "Sometimes I worry people will see through my optimistic, paragon shell. I get overwhelmed and sad just like everyone else but I spend so much of my time helping them, being their rock, that sometimes I just break down. I worry people know that I have that weakness in me."

She looked at him. He said it so casually, so easily, like although the fear was there, he wasn't bothered by it. He was so unusual. She wished secretly she could be more like that.

"I don't think anyone does." She said quietly. He shrugged.

"Like you said, it's illogical so it can't be helped. Your turn."

She had to get this conversation out of sadsville. She laughed. Of course her mind would take a dirtier path.

"Do you watch or look at porn?" She asked grinning. Arnold's face immediately turned a dark red. He rubbed his neck nervously.

"Well, of course I do. I think everyone does." He said awkwardly staring up at the ceiling.

"Do they?" She asked. He glared at her and she broke into a fit of giggles.

"Well you have to tell me what kind." She said when she finally came up for air.

"Does that count as another question?"

"Uh, no?" She said slowly.

"Oh, okay." He said taking the hook, line, and sinker. "Um, well. I guess I like redheads."

He blushed harder. Helga immediately crossed her arms.

"Of course." She said sarcastically. "Your turn."

"Wait, you didn't answer." He said leaning forward.

"Women aren't as visual creatures as you men are." She said looking him up and down with an annoyed look on her face. "I prefer x-rated fan-fiction if you must know."

"What kind though?" He prodded. She gave him a look.

"Harry Potter, if you must know. Specifically Ron and Hermione. Happy?" She asked aggravated. He frowned at her tone.

"I guess. My turn then?"

She nodded.

"Who's the most important person in your life?" He asked. Her eyes immediately cut to him. Sometimes she wondered about him, if maybe he knew more than he let on.

"Phoebe." She said quietly assessing his expression. He nodded, looking satisfied.

"Mine's split, between my grandma and grandpa. Probably my grandpa a little more though, not because I love grandma less, but because he's a guy. He can give me advice she can't."

"I'm jealous of them." She said without thinking. He looked at her curiously again. She hated when he did that, like she was a puzzle he was trying to figure out.

"Why?" He asked.

"I want that. I want a family like that." She said looking away. He moved, crawling up the bed to sit beside her.

"They're nuts you know." He said after a moment.

"Yeah, I know." She said smiling softly. She would prefer crazy over apathetic. He bumped her shoulder with his.

"I know you hate all of us in the group but we're kind of like your crazy family you know." He said smiling. She nodded, she couldn't argue that. She realized she was close to crying again so she shifted gears.

"So the pressure's back on me, aye? Let me think."

She tilted her head to the side, contemplating as she decided on her next question.

"Oh, I've got it. Who was your first kiss?" She asked. Arnold immediately burst into laughter. She eyed him as he fell over the side of the bed onto the floor. She had no idea what was so funny. As Arnold had hit puberty, his continued good looks had not gone unnoticed by their many female schoolmates. So gossip on Arnold and his many romantic exploits had become common fodder for the rumor mill. Try as she might though, she could never get the dirt on this secret.

"Are you serious?" He said wiping his eyes.

"Uh, yeah. Just a little." She said getting annoyed at being left out of the loop.

"It was you, Helga." He said chuckling. She felt her mouth fall open and shut it quickly.

"What? No way." She said slowly.

"Yeah way. Remember the Shakespeare play? You were Juliet and I was Romeo. I always said it didn't count, that there was no way in hell Helga G. Pataki was gonna be my first kiss but then you were my second kiss on top of that. Remember? On the set of beach babes or whatever it was called."

"I-I didn't know." She said. When she had been plotting and scheming to set up all those scenarios, she had never realized she might be stealing away a significant moment for him.

"Yeah, you can imagine I wasn't bragging about it. No one knows you were my first kiss but you now." He said laughing still. He didn't seem too upset by this fact. He pulled himself back up on the bed and sat beside her.

"But hey, I've kissed plenty of girls since then so don't go thinking I don't know how to kiss." He waggled his eyebrows at her, bumping his shoulder against hers again. Was he flirting with her? Because she would love to gage Arnold's kissing skills anytime.

"I don't know Arnoldo, of what little I remember about those two times, you were a dead fish the whole time." She said laughing nervously. He was sitting so close to her, his hand on the bed beside hers. All would have to do is move her hands two inches over and hers would be over his. In a parallel universe.

"Hey!" He pointed in her face. "I was a beginner then, no fair!"

"Alright, alright." She laughed. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt."

"Thank you! Now, what about you? Was I your first kiss too or did someone else steal Miss Pataki's lip virginity?" He smirked. She stuck her tongue out at him and looked away, feeling her face getting red.

"Oh come on I told you mine." He whined.

"Alright, alright, jeez." She took a deep breath and pushed it out violently.

"It was Harold." She mumbled.

"I'm sorry, what?" He said cupping his ear and leaning in.

"It was Harold." She mumbled again.

"Can't hear you in the balconnyyy..." He sang.

"It was Harold, okay?!" She shouted humiliated.

"Harold?" He howled with laughter. "Don't you hate him?"

"Yeah, I do but he was the only guy I knew at the time who had actually kissed a girl."

"Why did that matter?" He asked curiously.

"Well, it was before the Shakespeare play. I was nervous about the kiss; I didn't want you to go blathering to everyone I was a terrible kisser so I asked Harold to teach me."

"You asked Harold to teach you how to kiss?" Arnold looked completely dumbfounded. She nodded sheepishly.

"He wasn't really that bad at it, all things considered." She shrugged. She could remember that day, when they met in an alley behind a dumpster. Harold had sat nervously on a milk crate while she sat on a bucket. They were face to face when he told her about the first time he kissed at sweet girl named Maria while at a bat mitzvah. He said it had to mean something, that it wasn't just something you did to do. He showed her how to put your hands on the other person's neck or maybe cup their face. Then he showed her how lips didn't just press together but how his top lip went just above hers, and you can nibble or just kiss his bottom lip. There was no tongue, that was out of both their leagues. He told her she could either hold her breath or open her lips slightly to breath. It wasn't terrible. It was kind of sweet actually; he was very nice about it. Of course, they never spoke of it again after that.

"Wow." Arnold said, his eyes wide with surprise. "I would never have guessed."

"Who did you think it was?" She was curious about what the rumor mill had to say about her. He shrugged, picking at the blanket.

"I think everyone just assumed it was Stinky."

She nodded, understanding that. Besides the time in elementary school, Helga had dated Stinky a second time. She had actually liked him for a while there. They had dated all junior year. He wasn't a genius or even on her level but what he did know about, he was an expert in. He loved hunting, tracking, animals, and nature. She found all of his interests so refreshing and interesting because they were so foreign and new to her. But in the end, she realized she was doing him a disservice since she was still hung up on Arnold. She'd broken it off and still regretted it. Being in love with Arnold was a lonely affair but she couldn't put that same hurt on someone she actually cared about.

"Well, I guess that makes it my turn then, huh?" He said grinning, rubbing his hands together in an evil fashion. She rolled her eyes.

"Get on with it then." She said waving a hand at him.

"Okay. Are you a virgin, Helga G. Pataki?" He asked. Her eyes snapped to his.

"Why are you asking me that?" She said sharply. He held up his hands in defense.

"Hey, it's the question game. Hate the game, not the player."

She glared at him but looked away. Her heart hurt a little.

"Yes, I am. But not for a lack of trying." She said softly.

"What does that mean?"

"It means I tried to have my way with Stinky but he rebuffed me." She snapped glaring at him.

"He said...no?" Arnold looked shocked.

"Yep. He claimed he wanted it to be special and that he didn't want to ruin my first time for me." She paused, her anger clogging her throat. "Or some shit like that."

"I-" Arnold looked lost for words. "I'm sorry Helga."

"Don't. Don't feel sorry for me. You know I hate that shit." She said sliding down on the bed. She stared up at the ceiling, trying to will away the tears building in the corners of her eyes. Arnold's face came into view as he leaned over her.

"I don't feel sorry for you, Helga. I never have. No one will ever have to feel sorry for you; you're a tough woman who carries on no matter what. I am sorry that that happened. It sucks, no matter what, to be rejected."

She looked up into his face, so full of empathy and understanding. She wanted so badly to reach out to him and have him hold her.

"It just-it fucking sucks, you know? To get rejected all the goddamn time. To put yourself out there and get cut down." Her throat was blocked by a lump.

"It just...sucks." She whispered. He rubbed her arm gently.

"Hey, I'm sorry for bringing it up." He said.

"No worries. Forget about this." She gestured to her weepy state. "What about you, Arnoldo? Have you gotten any yet?"

He laughed, looking off into the distance.

"Nah, I haven't gotten close to any girl yet. I'm looking for that special girl." He said somberly.

"Pfft, how did I know that your answer was gonna be some after school special shit?" She laughed. He shoved her and laughed too.

"Just shut up and go."

"Alright, alright." She pushed herself back up against his wall and surveyed his face.

"Have you ever known someone who died?" She asked. His face fell immediately and he glanced towards his side table. She looked over him and saw the picture of his parents sitting there.

"Oh Arnold, I didn't mean..." She began.

"No, don't worry about it. I barely remember them." He sighed running a hand through his hair. "Actually, do you remember my cousin Arnie?"

"Uh, kid that that looked exactly like you? Except weird as hell?" She said.

"Yeah, him. He died a while ago." He said vaguely staring off again.

"Oh." Was all she could think to say. His eyes snapped back to hers and he tilted his head slightly.

"You knew?" He asked incredulously. "I didn't tell anyone. I didn't want Lila to hear about it."

She rubbed her neck nervously, afraid to divulge this secret she'd kept from him.

"Um, actually, Phil told me." She said.

"What?"

"Yeah. We were all down the street playing ball. I had come to your door to ask you to come out but Phil answered. He told me your cousin had died. He asked me to take it easy on you. When he went to go get you, I ran away."

She paused. He was watching her very intensely.

"You didn't notice? I left you alone for like a week."

He continued to stare at her.

"No, I guess I didn't." He said softly.

"I figured I couldn't be nice to you. As far as I knew, you hadn't told anyone at school. I thought if I was nice, people would ask questions, so I just avoided you for a week. I figured you had enough on your plate." She shrugged.

"Helga." He said quietly. He was staring down into his lap. She saw tears running down his cheeks.

"Arnold?" She reached for him but he held up a hand and she stopped. They sat there in silence for a while as he collected himself. She hadn't realized how much that would mean to him.

"What about you Helga?" He asked finally. Apparently they were going to skip right over that

"Um, no. I have never known someone who died."

"Not counting Dino Spumoni then?" He smirked. She rolled her eyes.

"Not if he fucking faked it." She laughed. He nodded. He seemed to get more serious for a moment and glanced at her.

"I have a question." He said slowly. The look on his face made her nervous.

"Um, okay?" She said awkwardly.

"Who was your poem about?" He asked. She sucked in a breath.

"Oh Arnold." She sighed. "You know I won't answer that."

He looked confused.

"But you have to answer." He argued.

"Yeah, I know." She said. "But I won't."

"Helga." He said sternly.

"Arnold." She mimicked. "You know better than that. That's private to me."

"So you can't tell me?" He crossed his arms.

"I won't tell you." She said simply.

"You're serious." He stated. She nodded.

He scoffed and got off the bed. He went over to his desk and flipped open his laptop.

"Why are you getting mad right now?" She demanded. What the hell did it matter?

"Because you don't play fair." He said not even bothering to turn around.

"Yeah, I guess not." She said sarcastically and fell back against a pillow.


	6. You Got Something

Turn On The Lights

Chapter Six: You Got Something That Keeps Me So Off Balance

Arnold glared angrily into his computer screen, obsessively clicking away at links he wasn't even reading on his Facebook. He realized of course that he was being unreasonable, which only made him angrier. This anger, this was how he was allowed to feel when it came to the obnoxious girl laying on his bed ten feet away, turning pages in a book a little too loudly and roughly. He could feel her sharp glare on the back of his neck at every annoyed little flip.

He didn't know why this was bothering him so much. It felt like a little nagging voice in the corner of his mind, taunting him. He knew a lot about Helga, probably more than she knew or that she had ever intended for him to know. He knew she was a romantic, he knew she liked to hike in the woods, he knew she liked to write and sing when no one was looking. He also knew that she could be cruel, that she hurt people, shut people down, and hid herself from the world. He knew that in the end, as much as she lashed out at others, that they were the same. Whether his parents were dead or hers just weren't parents, they were alone. Orphaned.

He sighed. If anyone should know better, it aught to be him. Of course she wouldn't tell. This was her biggest secret, the one that could hurt her the most. She had slowly, over so many long goddamn years, opened herself up, letting bits and pieces drift to the top for him. He knew that it must be hard for her and he had kept them all to himself. He had pushed her, she wasn't ready. He would have to wait and coax it out of her.

He turned his head slightly to catch sight of her. Her brow was still furrowed in annoyance, her face half hidden behind the large book in her hands. He felt bad. He hated it when she was mad at him. She made his life hell when she was mad at him. And honestly, she didn't deserve it. So many people made her life difficult. It wasn't fair of him to do the same.

"Helga?" Arnold called out to her. She glanced at him from under half-lidded eyes. She sighed dramatically, placing a bookmark on her page, and shutting it to look at him.

"What Arnold." She said stiffly. She was not over his attitude from earlier. Although she realized she had given this kid hell for most of their lives, she had made it a point to be kinder to him during her stay. She figured it was fair considering she didn't have to live on the streets then. Not that she wasn't going to tease him or mock him a little. But definitely no more cruel barbs like she was used to when it came to shutting him down when he got too close. But there they had been, she had been letting him ask her anything his heart desired, and actually answering honestly, and he just had to ruin it. Her poems were off limits, an unspoken rule between them. He had disrespected that and so he had disrespected her. She was not pleased, especially when she was not allowed to use her familiar tactics to push him away again.

"I wanted to apologize." He said twiddling his thumbs anxiously. He glanced up at her to gage her reaction. She twisted her lips to appear neutral so he would continue.

"I know your poems are private to you and what a rarity it is for you to share them with others. I'm sorry I pushed you about it, it's none of my business anyways."

She scoffed inside her mind. _It is _kind_ of his business, I suppose._

"I want us to be good though. I don't wanna make this situation any harder than it has to be." He stood up and walked towards her. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed to meet him.

"So are we okay?" He asked putting out his hand. She looked at it. He was such an odd kid. A handshake, really? Would there be a pinky promise too?

"Sure." She said taking his hand. He gripped hers firmly and yanked her to him. She smacked into his chest as he held her in a bone crushing hug.

"Damnit football head, lemmie go!" She shouted, muffled by his shirt. She struggled as he laughed heartily and he released her to go flying backwards onto the bed.

"I have realized the only way to hug a Pataki girl is to surprise her and crush her before she can assault you." He said still laughing. She threw a pillow at him angrily and it caught him right in the face.

"Oh, I've been hit!" He shouted and clutched his heart. He stumbled backwards with his mouth hanging open in horror.

"Would you just die already?" She said and smacked him across the face with another pillow. He laughed and threw himself towards her. Before she knew it, they were physically fighting each other, wrestling each other across the floor, pushing the other against the dresser, and walloping each other with pillows. She had forgotten his new strength from his swimming career, he was actually holding his own against her. Just as she was actually getting tired, he had fallen backwards on the ground. She climbed on top of him, fixing him into a nice head lock and locking her ankles behind his back.

"Alright, you've got a nice little hold there, huh?" His voice was strained. She knew she was interfering with his breathing. She laughed.

"I'm not worried about it. You'll have to tap out now." She said.

"Oh yeah?" He challenged and tried to peel her off his chest, his hands under her stomach and pushing upwards. She held onto his neck tighter in retaliation.

"I have a feeling you won't surrender." He said thickly. She shook her head roughly.

"Fine! Then I guess I can't fight fair then!" He attacked her sides, tickling her wildly. She shrieked, trying hard to find her quiet spot in her mind and block out the sensation but the tingling was everywhere, like electricity frying her synapses. She screamed with laughter, her hold weakened and he wrenched himself free.

"Ah ha!" He shouted in triumph and began tickling her again. She screamed with gusto and tried to roll away but his hands followed her. She thought she was going to be sick. She was gonna pee herself. Tears were prickling her eyes.

"Please, stop! Mercy!" She cried.

"The great Helga G. Pataki cries uncle! The crowd cheers!" He shouted tickling her still. His phone began to ring on the desk. He paused and looked over at it. She collapsed on the floor, unable to move.

"I do believe witnesses are calling. Hold on a second." He said and scrambled over to the desk. He grabbed his phone and plopped back down on the floor leaning against the desk. He winked at her, his face flushed and full of triumph. She wanted to punch him in his smug little face.

"This is Arnold. Oh hey Gerald. Is that Phoebe I hear with you?" He looked over at her. He pointed to the phone and mimicked shooting himself in the head. She stifled her laughter into her hand.

"Yeah? That's cool man, I'm glad to hear it. What? Oh yeah, you told me. Helga?"

He looked at her pointedly, the fun melting from his face to be replaced by nerves. He bit his lip. She looked back at him wide eyed.

"Yeah, I'm sure she knew you guys would be back for Rhonda's party tomorrow. Have I heard from her?"

Another panicked look. Arnold really sucked at keeping secrets, she knew that. He obviously didn't know whether to alert their friends to her presence and make them suspicious or keep it to himself. She sat there waiting, feeling out the situation as she listened in.

"What do you mean Phoebe has been trying to reach her? Helga's phone has been shut off?"

_Damnit_, she thought. The jig was up. She held out her hand to him.

"Okay, hold on. She's actually right here."

"WHAT?" She could hear Gerald's voice from across the room. She rolled her eyes. Arnold slapped his hand to his forehead, shutting his eyes as there was more faint shouting. It quieted and Arnold perked back up again.

"Yeah Phoebe, hold on one second." He held out his phone to her looking apologetic. She snatched it from him and held it to her ear.

"Pheebes?" She said.

"Where have you been Helga? I texted you! I've called a million times!" Came Phoebe's shrill little voice. She was clearly upset. Helga sighed, trying to think up an excuse.

"Um, Bob turned off my phone. He heard about my little poem at school and flipped his lid. I'm sorry I didn't think to tell you, he took my laptop too." She fished in her pocket and pulled out her phone. She glared down at the pink thing. All this time she had thought maybe Phoebe was ignoring her or had forgotten about her with all the fun she was having with Gerald but in reality Bob had shut off her phone. A surge of anger coursed through her veins. She suddenly felt the urge to beat his face in.

"Oh Helga, I'm sorry to hear that. That must be so very frustrating that your parents would attempt to censor you that way. I just wanted to know if you would like for me to come home a little early tomorrow morning. I could come over and we could do each other's hair."

Helga swallowed thickly and turned away when she saw Arnold's concerned face. Being wrapped up in her little bubble with Arnold, she hadn't realized how much she missed Phoebe. Having Phoebe's tiny little hands playing with her hair sounded lovely just about now.

"No can do hun. Bob won't let me have any visitors." She said thinly. She almost wished Phoebe could see through her lies.

"You could come over to my house." Phoebe insisted. She smiled a little.

"Nah, I don't wanna push my luck. He's barely letting me go to Rhonda's party as it is."

She watched Arnold raise an eyebrow at her story. She waved a dismissive hand at him and he sunk back against the desk.

"Aw, well that was nice of him. Hopefully that means he'll crack soon."

"Yeah, I hope so." She said pinching the bridge of her nose in annoyance. She had a feeling Bob would never crack.

"I guess I'll get going then. Wait, why are you hanging out with Arnold?"

She gave him a look.

"What?" He mouthed. She gestured towards the door. He threw a silent temper tantrum, stomping his feet, muttering "man!" under his breath, but snuck out the door with a smile and a wink. She sighed heavily.

"Um, yeah. Bob and I got into a huge fight about the poem. He was the only person I could think of to talk to besides you."

"Oh." She paused thoughtfully. "How often has this been happening?"

Helga paused too, afraid to divulge too much information and make Phoebe worry.

"Um, every day since then." She said carefully, standing up to pace his floor.

"Really! What do you guys do?"

"Oh, you know, hangy outy stuff. Movies, board games, truth or dare shit." She said nervously running her hands through her hair.

"Wow. That all sounds like date stuff."

Helga stopped. "Comes on Pheebes, it's not like that."

"That's what Gerald and I do." She insisted. There was a long pause.

"You know he's talking to Lila, right?"

Helga groaned. "Of course I do."

"So what are you doing? You know he's just lonely because Gerald is here and Lila is still "thinking it over." Once she snaps her fingers, he'll disappear." She sounded worried.

"You don't think I know that?" She said sitting on the edge of the bed. She started biting her thumbnail.

"I know you know that, so the importance of this question stands: What are you doing?"

She stopped.

"I-I don't know, Phoebe. I guess I'm just enjoying it while it lasts." She said thickly.

"Okay then. You are a grown woman with your own thoughts and feelings, so I will never tell you what to do. Not that anyone ever could. But be careful, okay?" She said softly.

Helga sighed. "Okay."

"Alright. I'll see you at Rhonda's party tomorrow then?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Bye bye."

"Bye.."

She stared at Arnold's phone in her palm as the dial tone could be heard. Phoebe was absolutely right. What was she doing? What she was doing was setting herself up for a world of hurt. She was allowing herself to get too close to this boy, and letting him get dangerously close to touching her heart. Of course she hadn't paid these thoughts any mind, since she was having so much fun but now? Now the spikey tendrils snaked their way into her heart. She glanced at the door. What was she going to do with herself? A soft knock came at the door and Arnold appeared on the other side.

"You good?" He said quietly. She nodded, holding out the phone to him as she hung her head. He took it from her carefully. She could feel his stare on the back of her head.

"Is everything okay?" He asked.

"I think I'm going to go to bed early." She said lightly. She stood and began pulling back the covers to get ready. She could sense him still standing behind her, watching.

"That didn't answer my question." He said quietly. She ignored him, pretending she hadn't heard.

"Are you going to leave or am I gonna have to change in front of you?" She said giving him a stern look. He held up his hands in defense, a light blush on his cheeks. He pushed his hands into his pockets and sauntered out the door.

"Goodnight Helga." He called to her. She shut off the light.

"Goodnight." She called back.

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As he walked carefully down the stairs, he wondered what had changed with her. One moment they were wrestling and having a good old time like the boys, the next moment Phoebe was in her ear and she was suddenly skittish around him. Helga G. Pataki, skittish, small voice, eyes for only the floor. He didn't get it. He came to his grandparent's door and knocked.

"That better be Arnold!" Grandpa called from the other side.

"It's me, grandpa." He said. He heard a commotion behind the door before it flew open. His grandpa was shirtless, in nothing but some plaid pajama bottoms.

"Hey Shortman. It's getting pretty along in the night. What are you doing here?" He asked leaning against the door frame.

"I was just wondering, my friend Rhonda is having a little Christmas party tomorrow night and I was wanting to drive the Packard there. It's gonna be freezing and my friend is gonna be wearing a dress." He said. His grandpa surveyed him, trying to get more out of his expression.

"Your friend?" He said slowly.

Arnold shrugged.

"Yeah, she didn't have a ride and I figured I could do that for her. Be nice, you know?" He said feeling himself get fidgety. His grandpa stared him down for a minute but finally broke out into a grin.

"Sure shortman!" He exclaimed thumping Arnold hard on the shoulder. "I hope you have a good time too."

"Thanks grandpa. Knowing Rhonda, I'm sure we will." He said smiling.

"In the meantime though, this man's got an appointment with the porcelain god. Excuse me!" He shouted pushing past him. Arnold chuckled as he watched his grandpa perform the ritualistic run for the bathroom. He continued down the stairs into the sitting room and turned on the TV. After flipping through the channels, he landed on a crime show about a fake psychic and relaxed on the couch alone.

As his thoughts wandered aimlessly, he realized that tomorrow he would be taking Helga to a party. He would be showing up at the second biggest party of the class with his personal lifetime bully. He chuckled at the thought. Then the image of Lila being there came to mind. Instinctively, he pulled out his phone and checked for messages. Still nothing. He sighed and scrubbed his face with his hand. He laughed out loud then. The girl he liked couldn't spare him the time of day and his personal bully was spending all her time with him. The world was truly turning on its head.

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Author's Note: As usual, I am overly surprised by the people following and interested in my story. It makes my heart glow. Remember that reviews feed the artist's muse, if you feel like giving your two cents. I know I always love hearing your questions or favorite parts. :)


	7. Oh What A Shame

Turn On The Lights

Chapter Seven: Oh What A Shame That You Came Here With Someone

Helga desperately missed her curling iron. She wasn't usually super focused on her appearance. However, there were some variables that would change her behavior this evening. First, it was Rhonda's annual Christmas party and if she even suspected Helga would show up with pigtails, she may show up and forcefully do her hair for her. Rhonda took her parties very seriously. Second, Arnold was basically taking her. They were going together, so she wanted to look good for once. She could picture her curling iron on the floor next to her full length mirror, no good to her there. She sighed. She would have to wear her hair down. She pulled the rubber band out, letting her hair fall around her face. She stared at her reflection in the mirror of the bathroom. It was doing this nice little wavy thing. She rolled her eyes and grabbed her dress hanging from the door.

She remembered finding it while shopping with Rhonda and Phoebe. Rhonda had made her try on at least twenty hideous red and white lacy dresses that day. Helga was just about to give up and dress up like a reindeer for the party when she stumbling across the one in her hands. Even Rhonda had admitted it was perfect for her. It had a low scoop neck and long sleeves that widened at the wrists. It was form fitting, down to her mid-thighs, with a large white belt at the waist. The dress itself was striped, pink and red. It was a perfect mix between Helga and Christmas. She was actually excited to wear it. She pulled it on over her head and scrutinized herself in the mirror. Her bright blonde hair really set it off.

"Helga?" Arnold knocked on the door.

"Yeah?" She called.

"Can I come in?"

"Yeah, yeah." She said vaguely.

He entered and looked her over.

"Wow, you look really great actually!" He said smiling. His white button down shirt was untucked and he held a red tie in his hand.

"I guess I don't look great every day then?"

"Well, oh! I didn't mean-of course!" He stumbled embarrassed.

"Calm down football head, I'm just fucking with you." She laughed

"Oh thank God." He sighed relieved and rushed over to stand beside her in the mirror.

"Are you almost ready?" He asked pulling the tie around his neck and doing it up.

"Yeah, just thinking about makeup." She said applying dark red lipstick. She popped her lips and looked at him.

"Does this scream trying too hard?" She asked. He glanced at her as he put on deodorant under his shirt.

"It doesn't really _look_ like you." He said scrunched up his face. She grabbed some toilet paper and began wiping at her lips.

"Do we have to bring something?" He asked running a comb experimentally through his hair. It fell into his face.

"I'm sure it'll be catered genius." Her mouth hung open as she put on mascara.

"I saw people bring stuff last year." He frowned as his hair fell forward again.

"Yeah, but you didn't have to listen to Rhonda bitch about how rude it was for like two weeks after that." She popped her lips again as she applied some soft pink lip-gloss. She could see his hair flop down again out of the corner of her eye.

"Okay, gimmie that." She pulled the comb out of his hand and shoved him forward into the sink. She grabbed a glob on his hair gel off the counter, ran it through his hair, and within a minute, had brushed it up into his favorite way.

"How did you do that?" He asked surprised, leaning forward as he stared at himself.

"How do you usually do it?"

"I usually brush it for an hour until it does that." He chuckled as he shrugged on a black dress coat.

"Well that's a guy answer if I ever heard one." She rolled her eyes as she put her makeup back in her purse. He looked up from buttoning his coat and stepped closer to her. She froze as his hand came up, cupping her chin. He leaned in closely, staring at her lips. Her heart stopped.

"See, that lip-gloss stuff? _That_ looks like you." He said releasing her. She stared back at him. She didn't know how to respond, the air had left her lungs anyways even if she wanted to. He had leaned in so closely to her face. She had been so sure he was about to kiss her. She shook her head. She was being ridiculous. He had no reason to be trying to kiss her. He cleared his throat loudly at the awkward silence.

"You ready then?" He said gesturing towards the door. She nodded quickly and pushed by him out into the hallway. She picked up her white shawl off the table there and pulled it around her shoulders. They hurried down the stairs the foyer.

"Hey there, shortman!" Phil cried from the sitting room. He jumped up from his spot on the couch and came in to look them over.

"Going out then?" He asked smiling. He gave Helga an odd little side glance but looked quickly back at Arnold.

"Yeah grandpa, I told you about Rhonda's party." Arnold said shuffling his feet. He was obviously nervous. She stood quietly at his side.

"Well it's not worries to me, so long as you're back in time for presents in the morning. Who's your little friend here though?" Phil said tilting his head towards her. She tried harder to appear small. Though she wasn't afraid of Phil, she respected him greatly and was afraid of upsetting him. He couldn't know she was staying in their house.

"You Helga, grandpa." Arnold said shaking her a little by the shoulders. She smiled smally and waved. He paused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he stared up at the ceiling.

"Oh I remember you!" He snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "The odd little girl with the unibrow who used to jump rope across the street from the front door!"

Helga blushed, completely horrified that he remembered.

"Um, yeah. Hi." She said.

"Oh, don't you look a thousand times cuter! Did you finally pluck that unibrow? That's good for you." He beamed at her.

"Grandpa..." Arnold groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Alright, I've embarrassed you enough. Go on and get. I'll see you tomorrow morning." Phil said chuckling heartily. He disappeared back into the sitting but his laughter still echoed from there. Arnold rolled his eyes and threw open the door. They rushed through the cold into the garage and piled into the Packard. As they drove towards Rhonda's ridiculously fancy home, a silence fell between them. She felt...awkward. She was kind of upset by it really. She had been staying with him for about a week and it hadn't been awkward at all. But now, something about that moment in the bathroom, the mistake of thinking it was a kiss, was bearing down. But it wasn't like she had said it out loud, so why was he acting weird? Had he realized it too? She glanced over at him staring purposefully forward at the road. He had his hands clenched at the top of the wheel in an uncomfortable looking way. She decided to take a chance.

"Uh, did I miss something?" She said loudly into the silence. He jumped and looked at her.

"What? No. I-" He paused, looking guilty. "It's just, with grandpa looking at us the way he did back there, it made me remember that Lila is supposed to be at the party tonight. I'm kind of nervous about that."

"Oh yeah." She grumbled, immediately sinking back into her seat to pout a little. She glared out the window into the black outside. Of course he was thinking about Lila. Although she was ecstatic about going to the party with him, he must naturally be worrying about what that would look like to Lila.

"She still hasn't decided if she wants to date or not." He said sounding pained.

"Well maybe I'll help push her towards a decision tonight." She said vaguely. She could see his reflection in the window. He glanced over at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we're only going together because I'm living in your house, right?"

"Well, yeah." He said. Her heart throbbed painfully for a moment.

"No one else knows that. They'll just be seeing us coming together. Maybe she'll get jealous." She said thinly. She hated him right then.

"Hmm, I guess. That doesn't really seem to work though." He said slowly.

"You never know Arnold." She sighed.

They fell into silence the rest of the way.

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Now, if there was one thing Rhonda Wellington Lloyd was good at, it was throwing a party. No one else in their class attempted to throw one without her permission and even when they did get it, hers were always the highlights of the year. She always knew how to dance the fine line between classy and wild. As they pulled up to her gorgeous Victorian home, valets popped up to take Arnold's keys and park the Packard for him. They stepped out onto the grand marble steps that led up to the front door and were met with the sight of their classmates milling about on the wrap around porch. Arnold offered out his arm to her with a little bow, which she happily took.

Of course people stared as they walked up to the door. She felt smug holding onto his arm. Yeah, he may be there to see Lila but for the moment, she was the one hanging on his arm. They walked into a large room with dome ceiling. A chandelier wreathed with holly twinkled down at them. Garland ropes hung from column to column and a beautiful two story Christmas tree framed the back wall. Tables ladened with holiday themed snacks and drinks were nearby while the main floor was empty, clearly for dancing. Radio music could be heard although they were a small string quarter setting up in a corner. Helga could see Rhonda and Harold by the tree and steered Arnold in their direction.

Rhonda was jerking Harold around roughly by his neck tie, a dark green, obviously attempting to straighten it out for him. As they neared the couple, they could overhear Harold's complaining.

"I just don't see why I _have_ to come to a Christmas party. I'm _Jewish_." He whined. Harold wasn't the annoying chubby boy they had once known. He was tall, though still just as tall as his thin girlfriend, with a hulking frame brought to you in part by kicking kids butts all through their school career and by his high school long career in football. Still, Rhonda gave his tie a rather forceful tug at his comment and glared at him.

"You could be Mongolian for all you care and you wouldn't want to be here, so stop pretending being Jewish has anything to do with it." She snapped. He looked at his feet, shuffling awkwardly at being called out.

"Just try to remember that being on the football team actually somehow made you popular enough to date me. We need to look good and present a certain image together if I'm going to win prom queen. Got it?"

He groaned but nodded.

"Hey Rhonda." Arnold said politely. She spun around, clearly taken by surprise that she had an audience. The fake smile on her face melted away though as she saw who it was.

"Oh, it's just you guys. Thank God. I thought it was people I don't care about." She blew her bangs out of her face. She looked amazing as usual. She was Helga's height, tall for their age, though very thin almost wiry. She wore a dark red dress with a dark green sash tied around the middle. Silver pearls hung on her wrists, earlobes, and neck. She smiled at the sight of Helga.

"Well don't you look just darling?" Rhonda said grinning, her fingertips catching the ends of Helga's hair.

"Don't get used to it, pretty girl. This is for you." Helga smirked. She saw Rhonda's eyes stray to her hands on Arnold's arm and dropped them immediately. She didn't want the queen of gossip prying at this moment.

"So what's the game plan? Are Phoebe and Gerald here yet?" She asked attempting to distract Rhonda's gaze. Her eyes went to Helga's face and she sighed dramatically.

"They're driving down so they should be here soon. I, however, have been on edge since six. Everything that can go wrong has, I swear to God."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Arnold asked, ever the helpful gentleman. Rhonda put a hand to her forehead.

"No, unfortunately. It all rests on me." She sighed heavily, looking dejectedly out into the crowd.

"I'm sorry Rhonda. It looks really great so far."

He turned to Helga then.

"Would you like something to drink? Maybe punch or eggnog?" He asked kindly. Rhonda gave Helga another curious look. Harold was not paying any attention.

"Uh." She said awkwardly, feeling all eyes on her. "Yeah, yeah. Sure, sure."

She shooed him away. She could practically hear the thoughts in Rhonda's head whirring.

"Harold. Could you fetch me a cold drink as well? I'm parched." She said poking him in the side. He groaned, probably not for the last time that night, and went off with Arnold.

"Helga G. Pataki." Rhonda began, a taunting twinkle in her eye as her hands went to her hips. Helga braced for it.

"Helga!" She felt Phoebe's tiny body collide into hers for a hug.

"Oh, how I've missed you! Of course though Gerald is a peach, female companionship is just too different!"

Gerald ambled up then, giving Helga a weary look.

"Arnold is at the punch bowl, Gerald." Rhonda said helpfully, though more as a dismissal, as she pointed the way. Helga shot her a dirty look over Phoebe's head.

"Thank you Rhonda." He nodded towards her briefly before walking away. Phoebe released her and looked her over as she bounced on the ball of her feet.

"So don't be coy, tell me everything!" She squeaked in excitement.

"Helga is here with Arnold." Rhonda threw in smirking evilly. Helga glared at her as Phoebe gasped.

"I am not. Bob refused to give me a ride, I had no idea when you two were coming so I bummed a ride with the guy." She said crossing her arms.

"You were practically hanging off his arm, Helga!"

"He offered it to me. You know how he is." She huffed.

"Helga, has there been something going on while we were away?" Phoebe said softly, her facing shining with her excitement. Helga rolled her eyes.

"Why don't you look over there and tell me?" She said stiffly, tilting her head towards them. The other two girls turned to gawk at Arnold, only to see him standing at the punch bowl with Lila. They turned back to her, both frowning a bit.

"I hear she's not even interested." Rhonda said sounding nonplussed.

"Just give him time." Phoebe said putting her hand on Helga's arm. She shrugged it off.

"Why don't you just go after him, Helga? You'll never know how he feels standing on the sidelines." Rhonda said thoughtfully. "Plus, I've never really known you to ever be so...forward when it comes to getting what you want."

"Uh, because I'm not an idiot? He wants her, it's all he talks about, and a few days of hanging out aren't going to change a decade of feelings or actions." She said somberly. They watched her wearily as she grabbed a drink from a passing server's tray and threw it back.


	8. I Just Can't Stop

Turn On The Lights

Chapter Eight: I Just Can't Stop

Arnold liked parties, especially ones that Rhonda threw, because they were always sure to feature all their old friends from the neighborhood gang. Although he wasn't as close to Harold as say Gerald or Helga, he liked the opportunity to talk to him.

"Hey Harold, are you and Rhonda okay?" He asked as they crossed the dance floor together on their way to the snack table.

"Yeah, we're great. Why do you ask?" He said vaguely.

"Well, we couldn't help but overhear your argument over there.." Arnold let his remark trail off suggestively. Harold glanced over at him.

"Oh, that? Forget about it."

"She was being kind of mean though." Arnold insisted. He was worried. Although Harold was physically the toughest person at their school, Arnold knew there was a gentler side inside. Harold could be sensitive. His tough exterior was just a shell around it. People like Rhonda though, they knew exactly how to twist beneath the armor and jab right in the heart. They reached the table and Harold started poking around at the snacks.

"So?" He snorted. "I knew that when I started seeing her."

"So why did you start seeing her?" Arnold asked completely baffled. Harold scooped up some punch and took a sip. He paused, looking thoughtful as he swished the drink around in his cheek.

"Well, she's gorgeous, which is why I initially said yes. But then, yeah, she acts like a total bitch when we're in public but when it's just me and her, she's different. We're different."

"Why would you want to be with a girl who can't be nice to you in front of other people?" He asked incredulously. He'd never pegged Harold as the low self-esteem type. Why else would he be letting a woman like Rhonda push him around? Harold shrugged.

"She's insecure man. I know what she's really like. She lets the walls down for me. She might not be ready to do that for the rest of the world, but I can accept that because I know, one day, that'll change and I'll be there. Does that make sense?" He said smacking his lips.

Arnold fell silent. This conversation was starting to hit a little too close to home for him. Someone tapped him on his shoulder.

"Hello there, Arnold." He turned to face Lila.

"Lila!" His heart skipped a beat. "I didn't know you were here yet."

She giggled into her hand and looked back at him. Harold rolled his eyes and began loading up a plate with food.

"Oh Arnold. I was here before you! I see you brought a guest." She said looking over at Helga. She stood with Phoebe and Rhonda looking annoyed.

"Uh, yeah. She needed a ride and Gerald and Phoebe were driving in from out of town." He cringed mentally. He hated how easily the excuse slipped from his lips to sever his ties with her.

"Well aren't you just a proper gentleman?" She teased shoving his shoulder lightly. He forced a laugh, rubbing his neck. He still felt uncomfortable with himself.

"Hey man." A hand clapped him on the shoulder. Gerald appeared beside him looking serious.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" He said glancing at Lila.

"Yeah man. Good to see you! Can you give me a second though; I have to get Helga some punch."

"I'll take her some silly. I want to compliment Rhonda on her lovely party anyways." Lila said slapping his hand away lightly. She reached for the pink bowl with red bits floating in it instead.

"Wait!" He shouted. She jumped, clearly startled, and dropped the cup.

"She's extremely allergic to strawberries. Try the other one." He said. She gave him an odd look but moved to the other bowl. Gerald watched him too, unease creeping into his expression. Lila walked off towards the other girls, shooting him curious looks over her shoulder.

"Alright man, what's been going on?" Gerald asked sternly, crossing his arms.

"What?" Arnold asked confused.

"Why in the world have you been spending all your time with Helga G. Pataki?"

"Don't do that, don't ask me like that." Arnold said offended by his friends tone. "We're friends. She's been having a rough time; I'm just trying to help her out."

"By what? Hanging out with her all the time, watching movies together all cuddled up?" He bit back.

"Who told you that? It's not like that at all." Arnold shook his head angrily.

"That's what I've been hearing. And then I'm hearing from everyone else that you're still talking to Lila about dating you. So what are you doing? Playing one field until the other opens up?" Gerald glowered down at him as he was actually crowding into his space. Arnold stood his ground, his anger clouding his judgment.

"Stop." He was trembling he was so angry. "Stop it right now. I would never do that to Helga."

"Are you sure? Because Phoebe's real concerned about her, that you're taking advantage of the situation.."

Arnold glanced over at Phoebe, a tiny little pixie standing beside the taller girls. She turned slightly to them and waved. He waved back. How could Phoebe think that of him? She always seemed to have so much faith in his character.

"I can't believe she said that." He said quietly.

"Well she's not the only one concerned. You know I'm definitely not Helga's biggest fan but I'm your best friend. I'm kind of worried if you're hanging out with one girl because the other one won't pay you the time of day. That's not you."

Was that what he was doing? Was he truly taking advantage of Helga's presence to soften the blow of Lila's apathetic attitude towards dating him? No. He couldn't forget that no one knew about her true situation. She was homeless and he had taken her in. Yeah, to the outside, it appeared they were spending more time that acceptably normal together. But it was only because she had nowhere else to go. They were being forced to endure each other.

"Well you're working yourself up for nothing, Gerald. You and Phoebe. Helga and I are just friends, always have been, always will be. Maybe it took you guys being out of the picture for it to finally happen in a normal way but you're not going to make me feel bad about it. She doesn't think anything's going on, and neither do I. So thanks for caring but you're just going to mess everything up. So stop, okay?" He said sternly.

Gerald scowled, crossing his arms as he looked Arnold over.

"Fine. I'll talk to Phoebe. But watch yourself. Phoebe may not be able to beat you up but I sure as hell will for her if it means knocking some sense back into you. That is, if Helga doesn't get you first of course."

It was Arnold's turn to scowl at him. Didn't any of them know him? He was the last person on the planet to try and hurt Helga. Yeah, she had been a major pain in the ass for the better part of a decade. But he knew her. He knew her home life, or at least some of it as it so happened. He knew that the nasty attitude was more than entertaining herself through bullying. She hurt, she ached, and she lashed out because of it.

"Fine. Can we get back to having a good time then?" He said stiffly. Gerald suddenly broke into a large grin and slapped him on the back.

"I hope so! I hate getting all serious. Has anyone spiked the punch yet? Because I brought some schnapps." He said loudly, dragging Arnold by the neck into a one armed hug touting the schnapps bottle over his head. Some people hooted and hollered as he bit the cap off with his teeth and spit it away.

"Geez Gerald, gross!" He said squirming away. Gerald laughed and released him, dumping the bottle into the punch bowl. People rushed forward to pour themselves a cup.

"Let us go find our ladies then." Gerald said rubbing his hands together. They marched across the floor to greet them.

"Ladies." Gerald said smoothly. Rhonda, Lila, and Phoebe giggled as Helga frowned and rolled her eyes.

"Rhonda, sweet party. As usual." He said tipping his head at her. She smiled, taking a victory sip from her cup.

"It was almost an entire fiasco but it came together in the end, didn't it?" She said smiling as she surveyed the room beyond them.

"Thank you, Arnold." Helga piped up. "For the punch, of course."

She raised it to him.

"Silly Helga, I brought you the punch!" Lila giggled.

"Yes, but I already thanked _you_, didn't I?" Helga bit back in a sarcastically sweet tone. Lila giggled again anyways and sipped from her own drink.

"So how about a dance?" Gerald said with a drawl as he had eyes only for Phoebe. She giggled, blushing lightly, and took his outstretched hand. Helga continued to frown as she crossed her arms.

"I'd love to." Phoebe said and they twirled out on the floor. Although she appeared to be dismissive of their show of affection, Arnold could see Helga glancing at the two.

"Oh, how I wish I could enjoy some dancing. It's really too bad it gives me motion sickness." Lila sighed, weaving back and forth where she stood looking longing at the mass of bodies on the dance floor.

"Do you wanna give it a try? I'd love to dance with you." He insisted urgently. Rhonda sniffed audibly but appeared disinterested as she stared down into her cup.

"No thank you Arnold, perhaps later." She smiled. Helga rolled her eyes again.

"I'm going to go find Harold. I think I deserve some dancing myself. Arnold." Rhonda said smartly. "Why don't you ask Helga to dance? I'm sure she'd love that."

He saw Helga throw Rhonda the dirtiest look which she didn't seem to see. She smirked as she walked away.

"How about it, Helga? Wanna dance?" He asked holding out his hand. She looked at it as if he was trying to burn her.

"The last time I danced with you, football head, you threw me into a pool." She said under her breath.

"Helga, come on. It's been forever since then, and you're not pretending to be blind by my fault this time, so it should end well."

_Plus we're fucking friends_, he thought angrily as she continued to hold her nose up in disinterest.

"Fine. But only because Lila shot you down." She bit out and took his hand. He walked out on the floor leading her and jerked her to his body. She stumbled against him, not having been prepared for that, but immediately stiffened back up into her grumpy self. He pulled her hand to his waist and jerked the other up in his hand as they waltzed. She was still frowning and looking anywhere but at him. He jerked her close, his mouth in her ear.

"What is your problem?" He hissed. He dipped her and pulled her back up.

"Nothing." She shot back.

"Doesn't seem like nothing." He snapped.

"Arnold, I didn't ask for your little pity party, alright? Just go chase after little miss airhead and leave me to find a date."

"Is that what this is about?"

She glared into his eyes.

"Yes." She hissed.

"Then fine." He released her mid-spin. They stood a foot apart facing each other. What had changed? Why was she being so rude?

"Fine." She said stiffly and walked away. He watched her disappear into the crowd. He felt his shoulders sag as he didn't have to keep up the act in front of her. Probably Phoebe filling her head with nonsense about him. He sighed.

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Helga was tired of this little charade. She was tired of the stupid nice guy act and the peer pressure and all the bullshit. She just wanted the boy of her dreams to ask her to dance, fetch her a little punch, and give her a kiss under the mistletoe. But no, instead she was pushing fiercely and unforgivingly through the crowd away from the only boy she loved because he was too hell bent on talking to a girl with more air in her head than blood. Really, when that little idiot wandered up with the punch instead of him, she almost threw it in her face. She was sick of it. She was sick of him pretending to be nice, pretending to care, sick of her having to pretend to be nice to that simpleton, and just plain tired of giving all the damns.

Finally she reached some tables and plopped down angrily in the first one she could find. She had no intention of finding a date. As far as she was concerned, she was undatable. Let some man try to woo her off her feet. She'd pull the rug from under him. For once, she just wanted some boy to want her instead.

"Is this seat taken?" Someone said beside her. She looked to see a guy standing over her, he was holding out the chair and pointing to it.

"No, you can take it." She said vaguely waving it off.

"No, no. I meant, may I sit with you?" He said laughing in a nice throaty way. She glanced up at him again. He had a delightful accent. She recognized him as one of the foreign exchange students that sat in her English class. What was his name? Felipe? Something Hispanic. He was cute, tall as her, caramel skin, hazel eyes, curly brown hair, that stereotypical Hispanic boy that just made American girls flip.

"Yeah, why not? It's been that kind of night." She shrugged unenthused. She put her elbows on the table and leaned on her hands. She watched the crowd, the dancers weaving around with an almost hateful glare.

"And what kind of night would that be, if you don't mind me asking?" He asked smoothly as he sat beside her.

"The kind of night where everything's gone to hell, so I don't care if some guy sits next to me and tries to make stilted, awkward conversation with me."

"Stilted, that's a good word. Not one you hear very often."

"Yeah, that's why I picked it."

"You know what? I'm being very rude. And now more so, what's your name?"

"Felix." He said chuckling. She tore her eyes from the crowd to look at him instead. He was cute, that was for sure. She wasn't really sure why he was sitting here with her but she was surprised to say she was happy for some company.

"Felix huh? Well I'm Helga." She said holding out her hand. He took and held it.

"I know your name. We share English together. I've noticed your work." He said softly. He pulled her hand to his face, smirked, and gave the back of her hand a little kiss. She stared in surprise.

"I've read some of your pieces and heard about you in the clubs. I've admired you from afar. I saw you sitting here alone and I thought it would be the perfect moment to try to talk to you." He said smiling. His smile literally twinkled. Now she suddenly understood the charm he held over the rest of the girls in her class.

"Wow, I don't know what to say." She was truly shocked. Although she had always been the far off admirer, she would never have imagined having one of her own. Except for Brainy of course. Where was that kid?

"I'm not completely unaware of the crowd of women sparing to gain my attention. This of course is why I have no spoken to your earlier, it's been terribly obnoxious to be on my own. But now here we are and you look beautiful tonight." He said. She realized he was still holding her handing, petting it carefully. Her stomach flipped. She didn't remember the last time a cute boy ever gave her this much attention or compliments.

"Well, flattery will get you everywhere my friend." She said thickly. He glanced over and she was did too to see Arnold at the edge of the dance floor with a whoozy looking Lila in his arms. He was staring right at them, frozen mid-dance.

"It would appear we have an audience." He said quietly. She glared at Arnold then. She honestly could have hated him then.

"Come on Felix. I know somewhere we can get some privacy." She said coldly. She stood and she grabbed him by the hand, leading him down a long corridor. The sound of the party became distant and muted as they wandered on.

"Where are we going?" He asked curiously.

"Here." She said simply, opening one of the many doors she knew led to a bedroom. Her mind was a haze. She had no idea what she intended to do with this boy in this room but she just wanted the picture of Arnold's face to be scrubbed from her mind. She wrenched him instead and shut the door.

"Nice room." Felix said looking around. "Do we finish our conversation now?"

He actually looked hopeful. She tilted her head to the side. She was starting to think all the boys in their school were nuts.

"No." She said slowly. "This is the part where we kiss."

"Kiss?" Felix squeaked, all this charm suddenly drying up in panic. She launched herself at him, knocking him over onto the bed. Her lips collided with his, large and soft. He made another sound of surprise that disappeared between her lips. His hands flew to her hair, holding her head as she bit his bottom lip and sucked. She lay on top of his lanky frame, her hands were glued to the sides of his face. He had a little stubble that tickled her cheeks. He was a pretty good kisser, the perfect amount of tongue without too much wetness on the lips. His hands were magic as well, rubbing her scalp in perfect unison with the swirl of his tongue around hers. She couldn't remember her last make out session. It seemed so long ago, it was nice to feel the warmth of another body against hers for once. Finally they had to pull away, gasping for breath.

"I'm sorry." She panted. "I'm not usually this kind of girl, kissing strangers."

He laughed under her, looking up into her eyes. He put a hand forward to grab a tendril of her hair falling down.

"Lilt me your lips." He said softly.

"Excuse me?" She squeaked in shock. How..?

"Lilt me your lips, our lost breath intermingling." He quoted a verse from a poem she had written for class.

"I may no longer breathe without breathing you." He smiled softly. Her heart stopped, looking down at this beautiful boy quoting a love poem at her that she had written for someone else.

"Oh my God." She gasped. Boom! The door flew open and Arnold appeared.

"Helga, are you okay?" He yelled running in and froze at the sight of the two sprawled on the bed.

"Are you fucking serious right now?" Her mouth fell open at the sight of him. "Get the hell out!"

"But I-I thought you might be in trouble." He spluttered, obviously embarrassed at having found her this way. His face was bright red and his eyes were now glued on the ceiling.

"Do I look like I'm in trouble?" She snarled, rolling off of Felix to stand across from him.

"Well not now!" He shouted in exasperation. "I just saw you go off alone with some strange guy and I know the statistics! I know what happens at parties!"

"Oh my fucking God Arnold! Stop with this fucking act! If anyone here is assaulting anyone, it's me! Now get the hell out!" She shouted back, her anger beyond reigning in. Arnold's shoulders sagged visibly in defeat.

"Fine. I'm sorry for interrupting." He pouted and slammed the door behind him. She shook her head angrily and dropped down on the end of the bed. She could feel the bed move as Felix wiggled down to join her.

"Are you okay?" He asked gently as he placed an arm around her shoulders. She took a shuddering breath and shook her head. No, she was never going to be okay. She couldn't even be with another boy without Arnold somehow popping up in the middle, whether it be by poem or physical presence. What was she going to do with herself?

"You love him, no?" Felix asked. She eyes snapped up to his face.

"How..?" She started. He laid a finger on her lips to silence her.

"Why do you think I am here, and not in the Dominican Republic? I ran away. I was in love with a girl but she was in love with someone else. I couldn't bear the sight of them together so I found an excuse to leave. I see the way you look at him. I've read the passion in your poems. And the way he chased you in here? I wish my love cared that much." He mused thoughtfully.

"He doesn't care." She said mournfully. He shook his head making a tsking sound.

"No, he does. Or else he wouldn't have come barreling in here looking for you. I didn't drag you in here. _You_ dragged _me_. He wanted to interrupt, so he did."

"Do you really think so?" She said quietly. What did this guy know; he had barely been here long enough to comment. She didn't want to get her hopes up. What if he was telling the truth though?

"As a man, I really do." He said leaning backwards. He flashed her another million dollar smile.

"Not that I don't appreciate the kissing. I could always use a little kissing." He winked at her and she blushed.

"But maybe we should return to the party? We could dance. That'd be nice, right?" He said smiling. She nodded and let him help her up.

"And who knows, if we're feeling a little lonely again, I'm up for more kissing." He laughed when she slapped his arm.

"What! I'm just saying." He smirked as they returned to the main hall.

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Author's Note: It's really too bad that Fanfiction won't let a writer have a longer title in the scroll bar. That's okay I suppose, I can post the titles at the top of my bodies of work. I hope you guys are taking note and reading them though. The longer full versions are relevant to the story. At any rate, I'm very happy with how this story is developing. I have hit a snag though with chapter nine, but my writing is smooth and easy after that chapter. Isn't that funny? Anyways, I do hope I get to hear more feedback from you readers in the reviews. It truly puts a smile on my face. :)


	9. Dream On

Turn On The Lights

Chapter Nine: Dream On

His blood was boiling. Never in his entire life did he want to punch someone so badly. He could still see the indignant look on her face, one delicate brow raised in surprise while her lips were twisted up in a furious scowl. Why was the attitude necessary? He had simply been worried about her. Who was that guy anyways? He hadn't seen him before and he knew everyone at their school. But she was just cool with gallivanting off with a complete stranger and locking lips with him. For all she knew, he could have slipped her a mickey or ended up being a serial killer. But nooo, he was the one being _dramatic_.

"Hey Arnold! Where'd you go man?" Gerald waved to him as he walked back out into the hall. Phoebe glanced beyond him as he walked to their group, obviously checking for Helga.

"Don't even worry about it." He grumbled, running his hand through his hair. He noticed the boy standing beside Phoebe with a dark red drink.

"Sid?" He asked peering at the boy. His hair was jet black, hanging in his face, but the nose was unmistakable.

"Hey Arnold." He said in a monotone voice.

"You look different." He said taking in the black dress shirt and pants and striking red tie.

"Rhonda asked me to perform a bit from her party tonight. This is my outfit for the band." He smirked slightly, taking a sip.

"Did she approve of that?' Gerald said looking him up and down.

"Well no." He said sounding nervous. "I didn't ask."

Phoebe giggled, clearly a bit tipsy. Arnold turned to glance back at the hallway he knew Helga was hiding out in with the serial killer. He started guiltily when she appeared suddenly with the guy and met Rhonda at the opening.

"You're the lead singer right?" Gerald asked, although Arnold was no longer paying attention. He watched the group by the hallway intensely. Rhonda greeted the guy who now had Helga on his arm with a peck on the cheek and a hug.

"Yeah, we're kind of an alt rock band. I was really influenced by this band, My Chemical Romance. Heard of 'em?" Sid asked.

Phoebe giggled loudly again. "Helga loves them, doesn't she Arnold?"

She shoved him against the back softly but he stumbled anyways at being brought back to their conversation.

"Huh, what? I mean, yeah. Anything you say Phoebe."

She giggled harder, sloshing a little bit of her drink onto the floor.

"Alright honey, let's go get you some hot chocolate now." Gerald said nervously attempting to pry the drink from her dainty hands. She held it out of his reach and laughed.

"It's just punch, Gerald." She purred, running a hand down his chest. He pushed against her and snatched up the cup.

"That's what you think." Sid murmured under his breath. Gerald threw his elbow into his side.

"Fine!" Phoebe pouted. "Gimmie hot chocolate!"

"You want a hot chocolate Phoebe?" Rhonda asked as she walked up. Helga followed behind her still holding on to the guy. The idiot smiled happily.

"I want Gerald to stop pushing me around." She said shoving him lightly. She stopped laughing at the sight of the new guy.

"Well hello there, tall glass of hot chocolate right up!" She giggled, her hand barely concealing them. Gerald rolled his eyes and glared at the newcomer.

"Hello." The guy waved. Helga's arms dropped from his as all eyes went to them.

"Guys, this is Felix. He's part of the foreign exchange program. He definitely one of my favorites so far." Rhonda said with a hand on his shoulder. All three men shot him a look at the same time. His presence was clearly unwanted unanimously by them all. The three girls smiled sweetly in the light of his million dollar smile.

"Hey Arnold, I think I saw Lila over by the tree if you wanted to find her. I think she was wanting someone to get some punch with her." Gerald said smoothly, a bit of bite as he glanced over at Felix again.

"Fantastic. Let me get the girls some punch too then. Anyone?" Felix gestured to Phoebe but she just dissolved into more giggles. Rhonda held up a hand in polite refusal.

"Helga?" He asked taking her hand. Her face turned a bright red.

"I think I'm good this time." She said looking around awkwardly.

"Shall I join you then Arnold?" Felix asked gesturing towards the punch table.

"Yeah, sure. Thanks Gerald. Excuse me." He stepped away from the awkward crowd to lead the way.

"I'll join you." Sid said, slipping away too.

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"Well, I'm glad that wasn't too terribly awkward." Rhonda said airily. Helga cleared her throat loudly and glanced pointedly at the only other guy in the group. She wasn't exactly in the mood to let Gerald in on all her drama at the moment.

"What wasn't awkward?" Gerald asked dryly, looking right at Helga. She glared back at him. Although in the old days, one saying that Gerald and Helga were "enemies" wouldn't be too far of a reach, she felt they had become closer over the years. Their joint feelings for Phoebe's overall happiness had led to a sort of forced peace between them. But his loyalty to Arnold was still quite obvious. Gerald was loyal and passionate, and her general harassment of Arnold still kept them a bit at odds.

"Well I meant Arnold acting like a jerk to my good friend, Felix." Rhonda snapped.

"You barely know him, Rhonda." Gerald rolled his eyes at her hyperbole and tucked a wandering Phoebe under the crook of his arm. She hiccupped but hummed along with the music playing, clearly too sloshed to pay attention to the current conversation. Helga suddenly wished she had had a little more punch too.

"It may not stand up to all of our records but I've known him long enough. He's very kind, old fashioned manners, money, devilishly handsome. Perfect for my Helga here."

Helga stared at her as she forcibly linked arms with her then. She thought of pulling away but knew it would only cause Rhonda to hold on tighter. She was making a point.

"I'm sorry, what now?" Helga choked out.

"Listen, I've had enough of you mooning around after a certain pain in the neck loser who can't pull his head out of his own ass long enough to realize when he's wasting time on a lost cause." She shrugged.

"Alright now, you listen here." Gerald growled.

"Don't you dare attempt to lecture me, _Gerald_." She spat, jabbing a sharp finger in his face. "We've all had it, all of us. Watching him pull her along and chase after idiot girls who walk all over him. I've had it. Butt _OUT_."

Helga was speechless as she watched the scene. The two leaned in towards each other, Gerald's brow furrowed in anger while Rhonda's sharp features dared his disagreement. She hadn't realized any of them were aware of her feelings, or that any of them were on a side, but as she watched, it was obvious they were all furious. They were all furious for _her_. She was kind of touched, that Rhonda cared at all about how she was being treated enough to do some underhanded things about it. She stared in wonderment.

"You're right." He said simply.

"What?" Rhonda's jaw dropped for a moment, but just for a moment before she regained herself and pulled back to cross her arms. She sized him up, unsure what to do with his change of tactics.

"I've already talked to him about it. He doesn't think he's doing anything wrong. And he won't."

He looked at her finally, right in the eye.

"Not until you say something, Helga." He was serious, and for the first time, she saw a sort of pleading look in his eyes.

"Well, then." Rhonda was flabbergasted. "Then I take it back then."

Gerald chuckled darkly then. "Yeah, I bet you do."

"Well anyways." Rhonda turned to her then, taking her hands in hers. "I talked to Felix. I didn't realize he had this crush on you but when I did, he just kept going on and on about you. So I commanded all the girls one hands off evening and suggested to him that he talk to you. I think you should go for it."

"Rhonda, really, I appreciate what you're doing for me."

She looked around at all the concerned faces around her.

"All of you, really, but you have to stop. You can't keep getting entangled and threatening people or setting me up with nice guys. There's no way I can do that. I have to deal with this first. I can't move on until then. Okay?"

"Of course hun, whatever you say." She pulled her in for a hug.

"I'm just saying." She whispered into her ear. "I've heard he is quite a sight."

She released her then, patting her on the back, while the other two raised their eyebrows at the slight blush on her cheeks. _Well then.._

"Alright then! Can we please get back to this party? There needs to be more dancing. And I need to have Sid change his ghastly attire. Excuse me." Rhonda rushed off.

"God, I need a drink." Gerald groaned, rubbing his face with his hand. Phoebe snuck out from under him and pulled Helga close.

"Gerald's just worried about you because I'm worried about you. I don't want you to get taken advantage of." Phoebe whispered.

"No one's taking advantage of me, okay Pheebs?" She whispered back. Gerald snorted and she shot him a look.

"I'm a big girl. I can handle myself." She said a little louder for his benefit.

"Ain't that the truth." He rolled his eyes.

She nodded. She sure hoped it was, anyways.

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"So uh, what's going on with everyone?" Sid asked jabbing a thumb back at the group they'd just left. Felix glanced back at him with question in his eyes.

"Don't worry about it, Sid." Arnold said lowly, glaring at Felix out of the corner of his eyes. "Things just change."

"Ah." He said simply. He gave Arnold a curious look that he ignored. Now was not the time to explain what was going on, not with Felix within hearing distance.

"So where is this Lila we've been sent to fetch?" Felix asked smiling politely.

"_We_ haven't been sent to do anything. _I_ am going to talk to Lila. You can do whatever you wanna do." Arnold growled and paused at the table. He glanced around for the bright red hair he knew so well. He caught sight of her wandering around by the Christmas tree.

"Well, I'm sorry then. I guess I misunderstood." Felix said coolly.

"Yeah, well I guess you did." Arnold snapped and moved to walk past him. Felix blocked him though and stared into his face as if seeing him for the first time.

"I'm sorry, have we met before?" Felix asked.

"No, not properly at any rate." He moved again to walk by but Felix blocked him again. He glared at the man. Arnold was not the fighting type but his patience was being worn thin faster than he'd ever experienced when it came to the "suave" exchange student before him.

"So why is it that every word that comes from your mouth drips with disdain and disrespect?" Felix demanded.

"Because I don't have much respect for guys who take chicks they barely know into dark lonely rooms at parties." He snapped. Felix opened his mouth to respond but shut it thoughtfully, looking Arnold up and down. He shuffled his feet awkwardly. He didn't appreciate feeling as though the guy was sizing him up.

"I do happen to know Helga. We have a class together. I admire her talent and passion. When I mentioned this to her, she took me to the room you so rudely barged into. Perhaps you should speak privately with your..._friend_ before making wild accusations, _Arnold_."

"Excuse me." He said speaking more to the open mouthed Sid. Sid nodded his head and moved aside so Felix could walk away.

"I'm sorry, did I just hear what I thought I heard? Was Helga alone in a room with that guy?" Sid spluttered.

"Yeah." Arnold growled, watching Felix's back as he returned to the group. "Practically eating her face."

"Oh my God, no fucking way. I have to tell Stinky, he'll die." Sid said laughing as he pulled out his phone and immediately began texting. Arnold grabbed his phone and held it away.

"Would you think for once? Don't be so insensitive." He snarled and threw it back. Sid almost dropped it as he caught it.

"Sorry, jeez. I just thought he'd think it was funny."

"Yeah, I'm sure you did." Arnold said under his breath and walked towards the tree. He was struck again by its height and size. It was decked to the brim with soft gold and white lights, many gold and glass baubles, and candy canes here and there. He walked up to Lila, she held a drink in her hand as she stood before it looking at the decorations.

"Oh hi Arnold." She said smiling softly. "I was just enjoying Rhonda's decorating skills. I've never seen a more impressive tree. I'd be lucky three times over if every Christmas tree I've ever had added up to be half this tree."

"Well don't start feeling too bad about yourself, I'm sure Rhonda paid someone else to decorate this tree so.." He said laughing nervously.

"I suppose that must be true." She sighed. "I wonder if she knows how lucky she is."

He looked over at the group on the other side of the group. They were all laughing as Felix animatedly told a story.

"I doubt it." He said vaguely.

"I hope so. She could have fed hundreds of people for the worth of this party." She said sourly, staring in the pit of her cocktail glass.

"That wouldn't have won her prom queen." He said. Felix had his arm around Helga, holding her close. He wondered if she was cold without her shawl.

"Arnold, are you okay?" She asked suddenly. He looked at her. Her cheeks were a little red as she stared at him with wide eyes. She'd obviously had some of Gerald's punch. He could smell it on her breath.

"I'm fine, never better."

"What are you looking at?"

"I don't know. Nothing."

She glanced out and saw the group too. She was quiet for a moment as she watched.

"You know Arnold, I've been thinking."

"Thinking?" He said without thinking himself. He smacked himself mentally. It was almost as though Helga's words had slipped through his lips. Lila didn't seem to notice at all as she stared out onto the floor.

"Yes, thinking. I figure, we have fun together right? So why keep holding myself back? I think it would be fun if we started dating."

His eyes snapped back to hers.

"Really? You mean that?" His heart was suddenly thudding loudly in his eardrums. He couldn't believe it. Finally, after much convincing, she was bending.

"Why not?" She said shrugging. "Would you mind getting me a drink? I'd be ever so grateful."

"Of course! I'll be right back." He said eagerly. He grabbed her glass, almost dropping it. He apologized profusely and she shooed him away. He jogged happily over to the table. He couldn't believe it. Finally! Finally Lila would go out with him! He wondered idly what had changed her mind but he didn't care enough to find out. So long as it was changed, he was happy. He grabbed the ladle and made a point to pour some of the untainted punch into her cup. He couldn't wait to tell everyone.

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Author's Note: I am SO sorry for not updating sooner! What can I say, the holidays are a bitch. Buying presents, wrapping presents, parties, working at a retail store on the holidays, training for a promotion. It all gets out of hand quickly. I know this is short but I had to give you guys something. I don't know why this part of the story is tripping me up so bad but I'm gonna try to push through anyways. Thank you for your continued support! :)


	10. I've Been Living A Lonely Life

Turn On The Lights

Chapter Ten: I've Been Living A Lonely Life

Helga stood with her friends watching them all with a brand new perspective. Suddenly, she didn't feel quite as excluded as she usually did. Her entire life she had always felt separate, a black sheep at home, a fucking plague at school. Of course, apparently all along, she had belonged. She wasn't really sure how she hadn't noticed to begin with, looking around at the random ragtag bunch of people in their group. She supposed she had been too wrapped up in her own self-loathing and pity parties to notice. They were her family, this band of mismatched misfits. It was just too bad she hadn't noticed until their senior year. She shook her head at her own foolishness. She decided to make a point of enjoying what little time she had with them.

"Uh oh." Gerald said ominously, breaking her from her musings.

"Uh oh what?" She asked curiously. He pointed and her eyes followed to watch a stand-off happening between Felix and Arnold at the punch bowl.

"Oh nooo." She groaned, slapping a hand to her forehead. Just what she needed, her unofficial roommate and potential suitor having it out for her "honor."

"Oh hell no!" Rhonda started, already stomping towards the pair.

"Hold on there little lady." Gerald grabbed her by the arm and spun her back into the circle. She stumbled at the stop and glared at him with hands on her waist.

"What Gerald? You know, you're on a short line with me! I am not about to let them duke it out at my Christmas party!"

"You're too dramatic Rhonda. Have you considered acting?" He said casually, throwing her a toothy grin. Phoebe giggled behind her hand.

"Excuse me?" Rhonda snapped.

"Look!" Phoebe pointed. Felix was already walking towards them waving and smiling. She could see Arnold stomping away rather angrily towards the Christmas tree. Helga sighed in relief.

"See? It's fine." He smiled. Rhonda scowled.

"Hello there guys, I hope I didn't keep you waiting." Felix said smoothly, still smiling. She wondered idly how someone could seem so genuinely happy without it coming off as forced.

"No, of course not darling. Could we sit though? My nerves are just absolutely frayed." Rhonda fanned herself.

"Next Angelina Jolie over here." Gerald stage-whispered to Felix, who laughed good-naturedly. Rhonda shot him a look but looked a little happy with herself as she took a seat at a round table. Harold made his way over and plopped down beside her. She reached out and squeezed his arm for a moment and took the glass of hot chocolate from his hand.

"Come on then. I want to bask in the sight of the fruits of my labors. And where is Arnold, Gerald? I want him here for this."

"I assume he's with Lila." He drawled, his face unreadable as he took the seat beside Harold and pulled Phoebe down with him. Helga moved towards the seat beside Phoebe but Rhonda grabbed her arm as she walked by and jerked her down.

"A little bird told _me_-," She whispered in her ear, "-that Lila is not even interested in Arnold. She has a crush on a mystery man who she refuses to reveal."

"Would you like to share with the class?" Gerald asked leaning forward into the table. Rhonda released her, holding her hands up innocently. She stood to see that Felix was holding out the chair beside Phoebe and gesturing to the seat.

"For the lady." He grinned. She rolled her eyes playfully and sat. He sat beside her, boldly laying his arm across the back of her chair. She blushed at the attention.

"So, everyone. I want to hear your ambitions when the year is up and we head our separate ways. Gerald?" Rhonda gestured towards him. He paused for a moment, looking very serious as he glanced at Phoebe weaving in her seat a little.

"Well, I've been offered a lot of scholarships to a lot of schools. The only one that's caught my eye is Miami University." He said thoughtfully.

"What about you Phoebe?"

"I'm going to Yale hopefully in the fall to study neurobiology." She said softly.

"She's being humble, there is no hopefully. She's going there." Helga jumped in grinning. Phoebe blushed at the compliment, dipping her head. Gerald rubbed her back.

"So have you guys talked about what you're going to do?" Rhonda broke back in, a bit more serious than before. Gerald cleared his throat loudly, pulling his arm away and grasping his drink in both hands. He suddenly only had eyes for the amber liquid inside. Phoebe's eyes darted to him nervously.

"We're going to try a long distance thing. It's the only logical solution." She finished lamely.

"Excuse me. I'm gonna go top 'er off." Gerald said thickly. He got up and walked away. Phoebe twiddled her thumbs, staring into her lap.

"I assume he's not happy about it." Rhonda said. Phoebe shrugged, rubbing her shoulder awkwardly.

"It's the only thing we can do." She said quietly. Her bubbly tipsiness seemed to have vanished under the sobering conversation.

"Neither of us should give up our dreams to be with the other."

Rhonda nodded thoughtfully. Helga shared a look with Felix. She didn't know how she felt about that. Although it sounded right, it was clearly making both of them upset. She thought though, if she did end up with Arnold (just hypothesizing), would she give up her dreams of writing and travel to stay in the neighborhood, tied down with his elderly boarding house responsibilities?

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Arnold stood at the punch table, whistling a random Christmas tune as he piled some smoked weenies onto a pure white china plate. Only Rhonda would have actual dinnerware at an event this large. He pictured a kitchen of harried staff doing the entire rooms dishes. He sighed. It was Christmas Eve.

"Hey Arnold." He turned to see Gerald standing at the table with a cup of hot chocolate.

"Hey Gerald! Guess what? Lila just said she wants to date. How awesome is that?" He burst with nervous excitement.

Gerald glanced to the side. "So awesome man. She's…nice."

"Yeah, and sweet and funny." Arnold rambled, waving his plate around and losing some weenies without notice.

"Yeah…" Gerald paused. "Are you two going to join us then? We're over at a table."

Arnold's face fell for a moment. Gerald didn't seem too interested in his news. He looked distracted.

"Yeah, let me get her. Everything all right?" He asked concerned. Gerald was normally the life of the party but his expression though darkened, was also a bit lost, off.

"What?" Gerald shook his head, putting up a big smile. "I'm fine. Come on man. They're all waiting."

Arnold paused for a moment. He didn't believe any of Gerald's act. You couldn't be friends with someone for your entire life and not physically feel their moods. But he could tell it wasn't a subject they were going to talk about now. Gerald was one of those people who closed off in the moment but called you at three in the morning to hash things out.

"Lila!" Arnold called to her. She turned from talking to Nadine and smiled.

"Everyone's waiting for us. Do you wanna go over with them?" He yelled. She nodded, said something to Nadine he couldn't hear over the party from so far away, and walked over to him.

"Ready when you are." She smiled kindly. Gerald led the way as they followed him. Arnold reached for Lila's hand but she ducked it, brushing some hair from her face. She flashed him a smile and linked her arm with his. They neared the table and Arnold stumbled for a second at the sight of Felix sitting beside Helga.

"Really?" He said sarcastically under his breath. Gerald glanced back at him.

"He's Rhonda's friend and Helga's taken a liking to him." Gerald murmured back lowly.

"_I_ don't like him." Arnold grumbled.

"Then you're the only one." Gerald said lowly. Arnold shot him a look as they walked up to the group.

"Arnold, you're back!" Rhonda crowed, waving her hand dramatically. He raised an eyebrow at Gerald, who simply shrugged and took his seat.

"I am." He said jokingly.

"**Mon ****chéri**, where have you been?" She grabbed his arm and tugged him down into the seat beside her.

"No where." He smiled shyly at Lila who sat beside him. She looked down to hide her own smile. Rhonda glanced at Harold beside her.

"Ah." She said softly. Harold rolled his eyes.

"We were just discussing our ambitions for after high school." Rhonda said lightly. Helga noticed the way she sized Lila up.

"Oh! Who's already gone?" Lila quipped.

"Me and Gerald." Phoebe said in a small voice.

"Aw, I missed it!" Lila whined, pouting.

"_Anyways_." Rhonda said loudly. "Who's next? Arnold?"

"Oh, me?" He rubbed his neck awkwardly. "I don't really have any big plans at the moment. My grandparents need a lot of looking after. I was just gonna go to a school around here."

"Don't you think it's unfair to you to be tied down here because of the boarding house?" Phoebe asked curiously.

"Not really. You know me. I like helping people and working with my hands. The boarding house does all of that for me. School is just a bonus." He chuckled.

"What about you, Lila?" Rhonda asked without looking at her. She took a long sip from her glass and looked at her from under her eyelashes.

"Uh, well. It'd be ever so nice if I could go to an art school for ballet. But if that didn't work , I'd love to be a veterinarian."

"A veterinarian?" Rhonda said slowly. Everyone squirmed in their seat awkwardly. Helga could understand her tone. In life, at one point or another, every little kid wanted to be a doctor, police officer, fire fighter, astronaut, and a _veterinarian_. Although there was obviously nothing wrong with any of those careers, her answer was just so…_vanilla_. Lila lacked substance. And when it came to Arnold, she figured most people saw him with a woman with more…_substance_.

"I wanted to be a veterinarian." Harold piped up suddenly.

"Yeah, when you were twelve." Rhonda mumbled. Harold elbowed her as subtly as he could. Arnold shot her a confused look. Lila smiled meekly.

"What about you Helga?" Phoebe jumped in, clearly desperate to change the subject. Everyone was getting tense.

"Um, I guess school, college. I'd love to write, get something published. With the Internet, it's getting easier and easier."

"Do you write just poems?" Rhonda asked.

"She writes _stories_." Phoebe stage-whispered smiling. "They're really good too."

"Oh hush." She blushed profusely.

"You must let me have a look some time, they must be awe inspiring if the gifted Phoebe lends them her praise." Felix said smirking at her. Her mouth fell open but she couldn't find the words to match his flirtations. He was really throwing her off.

"I can see it now. Helga G. Pataki on the best seller's list. Hot off the press." Rhonda mimed reading a newspaper headline.

"Hopefully, fingers crossed." She laughed nervously.

"No need." Felix smiled.

"You know what? What about you, huh?"

"Me?" Felix pointed to himself innocently but flashed a devilish smile.

"I, like your honorable friend Arnold here, have obligations at home. My family owns a ranch in the Dominican Republic that breeds prize horses and boards them. I would be training with my father and take over one day."

"Is that what you want though?" Lila asked, leaning forward on propped up hands.

"Oh yes. Ranching is my life. The sight of the ocean from the mountains, the smell of the wet dew in the early morning, riding such beautiful animals and enjoying their company? _That_ is my passion."

"Wow." All the women at the table sighed collectively.

"Of course, I'm hoping to bring the business to the states." He winked at Helga. She blushed.

"I can't believe you get to work with horses all day." Lila gushed. Rhonda gave her a curious look.

"Sounds like a lot of work." Arnold scowled, watching Lila carefully.

"Oh, it is. It requires a tremendous amount of manual labor." Felix said nonchalantly.

"You must be so strong." Lila sighed. Rhonda definitely raised an eyebrow at that.

"Running a boarding house is hard work too." Arnold argued urgently.

"Did someone say it wasn't?" Felix looked around curiously.

"Alright!" Helga said loudly. Everyone quieted down.

"And what are _your_ plans Rhonda?" She asked attempting to quail the argument breaking out.

"Oh, me?" She smiled shyly, a hand to her chest delicately. "I'm going into the modeling business, of course!"

"Of course?" Harold asked sounding wooden.

"Of course." Rhonda shot back. He said nothing, taking a long pull from his drink.

"Ooo, that sounds glamorous!" Lila said.

"Oh it is. I've got talent scouts beating down the door to be my manager. Daddy won't let me do it now, he insists that I focus on my studies first, but when school is over, Prague it is!"

"You lucky girl." Helga teased.

"Luck has nothing to do with it." Rhonda smirked.

"Genes maybe?" Gerald prodded. Harold chuckled and Rhonda elbowed him.

"You pipe down!" She pointed at him. Gerald laughed as her threatening tone, throwing an arm around Phoebe's shoulders and kissing the top of her head.

"Alright, as much fun as this night has been, I really must be going. My adopted family will not be so happy if I'm running around on the holidays." Felix stood, looking down at her.

"Would you walk me out Helga? I'd like to say goodbye."

She paused, looking around at the table as all eyes stared back at her in amusement.

"Helga, Felix asked you a question." Rhonda said barely containing her laughter.

"Shut it." She bit out and turned to smile at him.

"Sure, of course." She said. She took his hand and let him lead her away. Everyone at the table ooed annoyingly. She turned and glared at them and they stifled themselves. They walked across the hall to the wide open doors. He paused on the porch, looking out into the night.

"So.." She said slowly.

"So." He said turning to her.

"I guess this is goodnight then." She said shuffling nervously on her feet.

"I suppose so. But before we part ways, I want you to know I had fun tonight."

"Really?" She said surprised but eyed him suspiciously. "I don't know how."

He laughed, ruffling his hair as he gazed at her.

"Your company is like no other. You are truly unique."

"Which is just a fancy way of saying weird." She mumbled looking down. She felt his fingers slip beneath her chin and pull her face back up.

"No, you know that."

She stared at him, confusion riddling her chest. She knew that look, that long look you gave someone before leaning in and kissing and _stars_.

"Felix." She said sharply, ruining the moment. He looked at her.

"You know I like Arnold." She said hesitantly.

"I do." He said softly, staring at his feet as he kicked invisible dust. He peered up at her through lashes though.

"However." He paused, fixing her with such an intense stare she didn't know what to do with herself. "I like you. And I shall continue to pursue you. How do you feel about that?"

Her mouth fell open momentarily but she closed it.

"I-I don't know." And she really didn't. That kind of bothered her.

"Alright then. I will stop when you so order me to. Until then." And he ducked forward and planted his lips firmly on hers. She froze, unsure of what to do, but relaxed and allowed his soft lips to play with hers. Before she could really let herself enjoy it though, he pulled away, smirking like the devil.

"Goodnight Helga." He said simply.

"Get it!" Gerald shouted from afar. They turned to see the group walking towards them, Gerald grinning at his joke with his arm around Phoebe's shoulders.

"Cram it!" She shouted back and turned back to Felix. He had his hands buried in his pockets, staring shly a the floor at being caught.

"And what the hell do you all want?" She asked smiling.

"Parties over. Get the stepping." Gerald said waving her off.

"Charming." She made a face at him. He stuck his tongue out at her.

"I'm gonna head out then. Goodnight, Helga."

"Goodnight." She said back shyly. He gave a little wave and disappeared down the steps. She watched him go for a moment before turning her eyes back on her friends.

"Well then, Helga." Rhonda began suggestively, smirking.

"I'm serious, shut it!" She pointed into her face. Rhonda held up her hands defensively but laughed anyways.

"We're gonna head out. Mr. Heyerdahl will kill me if Phoebe's not home by midnight."

"As he should!" Phoebe teased, looking tiny hanging on Gerald's arm.

"Girl, don't get me started." Gerald laughed.

"Come on then!" She pulled him away. They all waved and laughed as the couple left.

"Alright then you guys, beat it. I've got my own date to attend to." Rhonda said smirking as she pulled Harold back into the house.

"Lila." Arnold looked over to her on his arm. "Do you need a ride home?"

"Oh no, my dad will pick me up. Don't worry yourself too much. See you later." She flicked his nose annoyingly, a sickeningly sweet smile on her lips.

"Bye Helga." She said stiffly as she brushed by her to the stairs.

"Goodbye…Lila." She said tersely. She stared at Arnold standing across from her. He fidgeted slightly, clearly uncomfortable, but stood his ground.

"I guess we go now." He said gruffly.

"I guess so." She said. He walked past her, leading towards the Packard. She followed dutifully, annoyed. She didn't want to follow him, his tense form before her, rigid. She could sense his anger, his barely contained contempt of her. Right back to square one. She rolled her eyes. Would anything ever be easy with him?

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Author's Note: I would like to say, I have heard your concerns about Helga's living situation. I feel I have dealt with it but it has to happen naturally. The solution is coming. lol

Please, everyone let out a sigh of relief with me for the end of this scene! It has been killing me and I don't know why! Perhaps too many characters interacting. I don't care. Be done with it! lol Thank you so much for the reviews and critiques. I am a huge fan, I love hearing from you guys!


	11. I Still Remember How It All Changed

Turn On The Lights

Chapter Eleven: I Still Remember How It All Changed

It was deathly silent as they rode back to the boarding house. She could tell he was jittery about something, he was happy about something, but he was squashing it down under his little angrily indignant facade. She sighed loudly, finally finding it within herself to speak up.

"Listen, I'm not mad at you, okay? So you can stop with the act. You shouldn't have barged in like that but I get that you were worried. I know that you're always fucking worried so I get that. I just wanted to say..sorry for yelling at you."

He glanced over at her and relaxed his death grip on the steering wheel.

"I don't think I've ever heard you say sorry to me before." He said chuckling.

"Well, if I wasn't in the mood to get the silent treatment for the rest of whenever at your house, then I wouldn't. But I am, so be happy about it." She said teasingly.

"And I appreciate that." He said sarcastically and laughed. She waited for a minute. He looked at her questioningly.

"Aren't you gonna apologize?" She asked.

"Who, me?" He pointed to himself.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Nah. I wasn't wrong. He could have been a rapist for all I knew. I acted accordingly, so I will not apologize." He said matter-of-factly.

"And they say I'm the jerk!" She joked punching his arm. He made a mock pained face and rubbed his arm.

"That's because you are."

She stuck out her tongue in response. They fell silent again. She watched him as he closed his eyes and hummed along with the song on the radio. He tapped his other foot happily to the beat.

"_So_, what are you so damn happy about skipper?"

He glanced guiltily at her and stared ahead.

"Well, Lila told me tonight she wants to go ahead with dating."

Her heart fell faster than a boulder on Jupiter.

"What? When?" She asked shocked.

"When I went to find her that second time. She just came out with it. I couldn't believe it really."

"Oh." She said simply. Her heart was constricting, burrowing deep into her ribcage where nothing could ever reach it. Nothing but words.

"What?" He sounded worried. She perked herself up immediately to cover up her reaction.

"Nothing. I'm happy for you football head. It's about time." She bit her lip to stop the trembling there. She had to hold it in until they got to the house. She could go to the bathroom and have herself a little quiet cry. Rhonda had been wrong. Rhonda was never wrong, which is why it was coming as such a shock to her. Lila wasn't supposed to be interested. She was supposed to be in love with a secret boy that no one knew about.

"Thanks, that means a lot coming from you." He said sounding happy.

"Anytime." She whispered. They fell back into silence again.

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When she awoke the next morning, Arnold was already gone. She sat up slowly and took that in. She figured he was downstairs with his family opening presents and eating delicious treats for breakfast. She felt lonely. She pulled a brush off the shelf and tugged it through her hair. Right at this moment, Miriam was attempting to cook a nice ham for Christmas in the oven. In about ten minutes, the kitchen would be flooded with black smoke when she realized she actually set the oven to 500 degrees and not 300 degrees. As Bob puts out the fire, Miriam will pass out on the couch from her exhausting effort while the other Mirium will pull out her pre-prepared honey ham meal to pop in the oven. They will eat like kings and fall asleep in front of the TV tonight as they watch the parade. And Helga would sit alone in Arnold's bed as he shares the day with his loved ones.

She sniffled as she felt the familiar tears come to her eyes. Just as she was about to flop down into the pillows and have herself a good cry, she caught sight of a golden wrapped present on the side table. She paused and looked around. He wasn't there. She leaned forward to have a peek. It had a gorgeous white lace ribbon tied around it and a tag that said it was for her from Arnold. She looked around again suspiciously and considered opening it. She had no idea if he wanted her to wait until he returned but why leave it then? She pulled up an end, attempting to peek inside. It was heavy and flat. She could see pages. She hoped it was a book as she pulled off the wrapping paper carefully. She didn't want to rip it, she planned on flattening it out and keeping it forever as a memento. She held it up, looking it over curiously.

It was a notebook with a rough faded cover. There was space for her to write a title. She flipped it open and gasped. When opened, the right page had lines for writing while the left page was empty for an illustration. She could write poetry and potentially draw a picture representing it. She felt the tears come to her eyes again. She was touched by the present, it was clearly from the heart and made specifically for her. She sat up in horror though. She hadn't gotten him anything though! She had no idea he was getting her anything. She thought of the spare twenties she had laying around but there was no time. She would have to make something. She looked around the room quickly and settled on the desk. She could do this, she was the master of poetry and art. She could make something in a heartbeat, right? So what then?

"Kokoshka! I am so friggin' serious right now brother, get your hands away from my pancakes before I murder you!"

"But you're such a tiny man, how can you possibly need all that food? Let me help you."

"No!"

"Alright now, pipe down now, the lot of you! It was a lot of work to get this going, so don't mess it up!"

"Don't be so dramatic old man."

"Dramatic? You know I had to spend the whole month convincing Pookie it was July so we could actually have this Christmas? Get on board!"

"I am very disappointed, no one gave me money for Christmas like I asked."

"Good! You'd just waste it all anyways!"

"My turn!" Arnold shouted and tore into his last present. It was huge, a large box, from his grandma and grandpa.

"What! An XBox! Awesome!"

"Take care of that. I didn't get the protection plan!"

Arnold elbowed his leg.

"Alright, I'm just joking."

"I'll have to buy that tomorrow." He stage whispered to Mr. Hyunh. Arnold elbowed his leg again and he yelped dramatically.

"Is everyone done then? No more presents?"

"More pancakes!" Grandma cried as she walked into the parlor wearing a flowing white dress and a wreath of holy on her head.

"You look like a Christmas tree topper, Pookie." Grandpa said. She giggled like a school girl.

"Oh stop it, Phil." She slapped his outstretched hands away.

Arnold rolled his eyes.

"Alright, I'm gonna go upstairs now before the love fest begins."

"Hurry back boy, I'd hate for you to miss it."

He rolled his eyes again as he took the stairs two at a time. He hoped Helga had woken up already and seen her present. She had seemed upset the night before so he hoped it would lift her mood. He knew that she would probably be sad on Christmas day when she was there and not at home with her family. Ever though he knew she wasn't their biggest fan, he knew how important it was to be around people who loved you. Today was going to be hard on her. He was hoping he could make it easier for her. He knocked lightly on the door.

"Come in." Came her voice. He opened the door and peered in to see her on the bed. She was sitting cross legged with something behind her back.

"What'cha got there?" He asked grinning. She looked down nervously.

"I found your present. I didn't realize we were exchanging them so don't judge me, okay?" She said softly. He sat on the bed with her and held out his hand.

"So long as it's from you and with good intention, I will not judge. Not too harshly." He joked. She knocked her shoulder against his.

"Alright then funny guy. Here you go." She handed him a large manilla envelope. He raised an eyebrow at her but opened the top. He pulled out a large thick piece of paper. There was obviously a poem on the one side that she had written in beautiful cursive. It was framed by a soft drawing of holly and candy canes intertwined. He flipped the paper over.

"Wow." He said softly. It was a drawing of Lila. He could see the faint pencil outlines underneath but it was finished in light charcoal and colored pencil. It was her from the night before, in her Christmas dress. It was beautiful really, very life like.

"Wow Helga. This is amazing. I love it." He looked up at her and saw it briefly. This terrible sadness weighing on her face, a wetness in her eyes. She blinked and hitched on a smile within a second.

"I figured you deserved some celebrating."

"How long did this take you?"

She chuckled darkly. "Not very long."

"Well it's amazing. Thank you very much."

"And thank you. This present is so awesome, how did you ever find something like this?"

"I didn't. I looked high and low. They had nothing like it anywhere. I actually had to pay someone to make it for me."

"Who? I'm sure I'm gonna need like a million more of these."

"This little guy at the book store. He loves books, he makes his own. I'm pretty sure he left his card in the bag if you want it."

"I would, thank you."

He paused for a moment, taking in the picture of her laying back in the bed with the book open against her raised legs. She was biting the end of a pencil, obviously considering what to write first.

"I do have another gift for you, if you want it." He said nervously. Her head snapped up to him curiously.

"I don't know how far you've thought about what's going on here. Obviously you can't stay in my room forever."

She was silent so he continued.

"If you'd like, we're actually looking for a cashier down at Slausen's. I could put in a good word for you, train you myself. That way you could get some money coming your way."

She was quiet for a moment, obviously considering.

"I would be working with you then?"

"Maybe. I'm a shift supervisor so it's possible."

"I've never had a job before." She said in a small voice.

"That's no problem. It's easy work and I know you. I know you'd do well."

"I-I don't know what to say."

"How about thank you?" He laughed. She shot him a look but cracked a tiny smile.

"Well, I guess thank you. I would like to get some money of my own. I feel bad eating everyone's food all the time."

"Then it's settled? I'll talk to my manager and we'll get it figured out." He stood up and pulled out his phone, ready to start dialing. Her arm shot out though and stopped him.

"Arnold."

"What?"

She was silent as she looked up at him with her big eyes.

"Truly, thank you. I don't know where I would be without your help." She said in a small voice.

"Helga, I would do anything to help you. Okay?"

She stared up at him. She grabbed his face on either side and pulled him down. She kissed his cheek softly, pressed her face against his, and released him. He stumbled backwards, dumbfounded, as a dizzying feeling swept over him. He clutched his cheek as he stared at her. Did she just kiss him? She lay back in the bed, opening her book again and began scribbling furiously. He looked around nervously, waiting for something to happen, for her to start screaming at him to never tell anyone or so help him she would rip out his larenx and cram it down his throat. But nothing. She ignored him standing frozen like a statue in the middle of the floor.

"Um, I'll be right back." He said pointing to the door.

"Take your time." She said without looking up. He fled out of the room into the hallway.

"Arnoooold!" His grandmother sang. "Cooookies!"

"In a minute grandma!" He yelled back and raced into the bathroom. He locked the door and fell back against it. He slid down onto the floor and stared ahead. He wasn't sure what to think. What was weird is he had been kissed by Helga several times, on the mouth no less. But none caused him more distress than that kiss, the one that seared and burned on his cheek still. Not a forced kiss or a coerced kiss or a "the end of the world, why the hell not" kiss. She had stared up at him with her wide eyes, blue with sadness and pressed her soft pink lips against his flesh in appreciation and thankfulness. He was not used to this kind of behavior from her. It startled him and quite frankly, caused a tingling in his body he wished he could ignore.

Obviously it wasn't the first time she had kissed him. But this was different. Why was this one different? Why? Because it wasn't normal? It wasn't dramatic, it wasn't grandiose, it wasn't for the whole world to see, a statement she was making. If he didn't breathe a word of this to anyone, he knew it would never leave his room, much like everything else that had happened between them lately. It was so simple. So real, so…_genuine_. It had been intimate in a way he was not familiar with when it came to her and that terrified him. It spoke volumes that he wasn't sure he could actually decipher. And yet, he wanted to illicit that response from her more. He wanted this softer, gentler Helga. But what was he thinking? What would that mean?

"What am I doing?" He wondered aloud. "Helga Geraldine Pataki should never ever affect me this way. Got it?"

No one answered. He sighed and buried his face in his hands. He didn't know what was happening. How a week or so could change his perception.

Christmas miracles.

He knew couldn't hide in the bathroom forever. Surely she would begin to notice his absence. He stood and walked slowly into the hallway. He laughed forcefully when he realized he was dragging his feet. Who would of known what a coward he could be.

"Kimba!" His grandma shouted behind him. He turned to see her coming up the stairs holding a large silver platter of sugar cookies and her other hand gripping several leashes. All their pets struggled before her dressed as reindeer. They didn't look too happy about it.

"I brought you cookies before scrooge down there ate them all." She smiled.

Arnold chuckled. "And who would that be exactly?"

She paused, tilting her head to the side.

"All of them, I suppose." She said seriously. He laughed, taking the plate from her.

"Well thank you grandma. Merry Christmas." He kissed her on the cheek. She practically glowed as she smiled.

"Merry Christmas to you Kimba." She turned and mushed the animals down the stairs. "And to all a good night!"

He shook his head at her odd behavior and made his way to his room. He knocked lightly and waited for her response.

"Come in." She called. He swung open the door, brandishing forth his bounty.

"I come bearing Christmas cookies." He said grinning. She looked up from her book seriously but smiled at the sight of the plate.

"Well bring it over, I haven't had anything to eat yet!" She said putting it up on a shelf.

"I know, I've been a terrible host. Can you ever forgive me?" He pouted, holding up the plate as he bowed his head.

"Perhaps Jeeves, should you fetch me some milk to go with it." She snatched one off and crammed the whole thing in her mouth. She sighed happily.

"Knock knock!" His grandpa kicked open the door behind him. He spun around, spilling cookies on the floor as he stopped to stare at him in surprise. He came in grinning, dressed to the nines for playing around in the snow, a bright red scarf around his neck. His face fell slightly at the sight of Helga sitting on the bed.

"I brought some cookies." He said slowly, raising up his own silver platter of sugar cookies. "For some reason, your grandma thought you needed some."

"I guess she forgot she already gave me some." Arnold said quietly.

"I suppose so." He said peering around at her.

"You know Helga, grandpa. She came over to get her Christmas present. I forgot to tell you I guess."

"You guess."

"Sorry." He said awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Alright, what's going on around here Shortman? It seems like you're keeping things from me lately and that's not very much like you. So out with it!" He slammed the plate down and stared Arnold down. His eyes flickered to Helga's in panic and she shrugged meekly. The jig was up. It was now or never.

"She's my girlfriend, grandpa." He said staring at his feet. Helga gasped and covered her mouth quickly to cover it. Phil looked between the two suspiciously with his eyes narrowed, but finally broke into a smile.

"Well if it weren't about darn time! Glad to heard it Shortman! Your friend's always welcome here. Mi casa es su casa!" Phil slapped Arnold on the shoulder and winked at him.

"Now, I noticed she was spending the night too so make sure to…protect yourself." He said in a stage-whisper in Arnold's ear. He could feel his whole face turn red.

"Grandpa!" He spluttered. Helga blushed, staring into her lap and attempting badly to conceal her laughter.

"What? I'm just saying." Phil laughed as he held up his arms innocently.

"I'll see you lovebirds later." He cackled and disappeared out the door. He stood there staring at the door with his back to her. It felt like his collar was going to explode into flames.

"You're a bold kid, Arnold." Helga said laughing.

He looked over at her annoyed and plopped down abruptly on the bed.

"It was the first excuse that came to mind besides the real story." He grumbled.

"Good God Arnold, you could have at least bought me dinner before getting me into your bed." She cackled, falling backwards laughing.

"Helga, shutup." He snapped. She shot back up, surprised by his tone. He jumped off the bed and sat over at his desk.

"Jeez, I'm sorry football head. I was just teasing you." She sounded hurt.

"Yeah well, maybe you should take a break for a while. I don't think you realize how hard it is to keep you here and keep your secret."

"Well I'm sorry if I'm inconvienancing you." She jut out her bottom lip, clearly getting defensive. After all, he had invited her to stay, she didn't invite herself. He pressed his fingers against his shut eyes.

"I'll just leave then if it's such a hassle." She said. He could hear the bedsprings as she got up. He spun around and caught sight of her grabbing what little she had and cramming it into her pink suitcase.

"Helga, wait." He sighed, going to her and grabbing her arm.

"Let go of me." She snarled, jerking away.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I've just got a lot on my plate and I was taking it out on you. I'm sorry, that wasn't right of me. Don't leave, okay?" He pleaded. She glared at him, her eyes shimmering with anger. Her expression softened at the guilt written all over his face. She looked away.

"Alright, alright." She said putting her clothes down again.

"But I'm not staying to ease your conscious." She said pointing into his face. "It's because I have literally no where else to go."

"Alright." He said laughing at her dry humor. He knelt down on the floor, picking up some of the cookies he had dropped in his futile panic.

"So what now?" She dropped herself back onto the bed and grinned down at him.

"Well, now that I've successfully lied to my grandpa, which by the way, I love."

She stuck her tongue out at him.

"I'll call Slausen's later and get you hooked up. Are you still good with that?"

She smiled, immediately brightening up. "Sounds good to me."

He smiled too.

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Author's Note: I want to deal with Helga and Bob but it may be too early in the story for that to happen. But when it does happen, boy are ya'll in for a surprise. :) Anyways, I'm working on another Hey Arnold story already. Got a summary on my profile if you're interested. Reviews are always appreciated. :)


	12. Having And Not

Turn On The Lights

Chapter Twelve: Having And Not

"I look re-goddamn-diculous." She deadpanned.

Arnold popped up behind her in the bathroom mirror, straightening his bow-tie.

"You look hella sweet." He grinned evilly. She shot him a look filled with venom which he responded to with deep laughter. She stared at herself in the mirror wearing a white long sleeve shirt with thin red stripes. She also wore bright red suspenders, a paper hat, and a yellow bow-tie that Arnold had taught her to tie.

"I quit." She said simply.

"Quit complaining." He said. He ran his hand experimentally through his hair and shot himself a smile.

"I am so ready."

"Ready for oscar myer weeniers." She grumbled.

"Listen, your awe inspiring optimism better take a backseat. I gave them my word you were good." He said with hands on his hips. _Serious business_, she thought.

"Alright, I can fake that." She plastered a joker smile on her face. A painful grimacing smile. He laughed.

"A for effort." He chuckled.

"Thank you."

"So, are you ready for your first day then?"

"I'd be more ready if I was dead."

"Perfect! Then we're almost there!"

She rolled her eyes.

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So working at Slausen's wasn't as hard as she thought. She knew there had to be a reason these people were being paid minimum wage. As long as she smiled, asked people how they were doing, and got them their desserts in a timely manner, people were kind and grateful and more than willing to leave a nice tip in the tip jar. The cash register had been something to triumph though. She had to learn how to charge a debit or credit card, run a check, and use gift cards. The worst thing though was when she accidentally entered the wrong amount of money a customer had given her so she had to figure out how much change to give them in her head. She nearly cried in embarrassment when the customer became impatient at the wait, but of course, Arnold had swooped in and saved her. He figured out the change in less than three seconds and the man was happily on his way. Of course, Arnold's powers at dealing with people gave him an incredible advantage in customer service. He had that boy next door vibe that made you trust him, a kind sincere smile that made you believe he was doing everything in his power to set things right, and convincing words that could get him off the hook with anyone. It was no wonder really he would be a supervisor while someone like her, who was tempted to old betsy a customer when they wanted three topping variations on a child sized serving of ice cream, was left with taking orders.

"So how are you feeling there, Helga?" Mr. Slausen slapped her happily on the back.

"Great! I mean, the milkshake machine has still bested me more times than I have it but it will happen. I will become it's master."

"Well aren't you a peach? You're lighting up the place already."

"Didn't I tell you?" Arnold popped up beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"You've never steered me wrong Arnold. The store has been ten times better since you arrived."

"Aw, Mr. Slausen. You don't have to say that."

"No, I mean it. I'm not half as worried when you're here." His smile was crinkly, reaching his big eyes.

"Well thank you, Mister Slausen. You're too kind."

"I think I'm gonna head on home. The misses will be expecting me and well hell! I miss her! And that's what I'm paying you youngins for, am I right?" He hooted and smacked his knee in his laughter. Helga raised an eyebrow at Arnold but he just shrugged, smirking as he messed his hair.

"I guess I'll see you for the meeting tomorrow then sir."

"Gotta check in or they're lost without me." Mister Slausen leaned in with a wink. She laughed at his cheekiness. Arnold was not impressed and cracked a towel at him.

"Go on home then!" He joked. The old man waved him off, still smiling, and walked out the door.

"He sure is feisty." She said laughing.

"Only when there's new flesh around. He's a bit of a trouble maker."

She sighed. "I wanna be just like that when I'm old."

"What are you talking about? You're like that now."

She cracked a hand towel at him but he danced out of reach.

"See what I mean?" He teased. She shot it at his football head instead and and got him full in the face.

"Who turned off the lights?!" He demanded waving his arms around.

"It seems quite bright and clear in here." Someone interrupted their horsing around. Helga turned to see Lila walking in, smiling softly. Arnold lifted up the towel to peer one eye out innocently.

"Lila!" He squeaked. "You're here early."

"I thought I might get a little treat for myself while I waited for you to get off." She slipped onto a bar seat and leaned her little chin onto her interlaced fingers.

Arnold glanced over at Helga. She stood rigid, not about to play any stupid games with Lila. His pleading look melted her posture.

"What can I get you today?" She asked the redhead in her higher, kinder customer voice. Lila smirked.

"I think I'll have a small banana split milkshake, dark chocolate drizzle, heavy on the banana, fat free whip cream, and exactly three maraschino cherries on top."

Helga glowered at her. What was really sad is she couldn't tell if the girl was just trying to make her order difficult or if she really ordered food like that.

"Coming up." She said tartly and went over to the milkshake machine to attempt to make Lila's complicated ass milkshake. She scooped three balls of vanilla ice cream into the small metal cup and paused, calculating quickly as she stared at the ingredients on the counter. She watched Arnold walk up to Lila as they started talking. Lila shot her a look but looked up enthusiastically into Arnold's eyes, talking animatedly. Helga rolled her eyes and stared at the three squirt bottles filled with chocolate syrups. She turned the three's labels towards the wall and deliberately picked the fatty milk chocolate, squirting it heavily into the cup. She smiled as she threw open the refrigerator door, pulled out a single wimpy banana, chopped it up roughly, and threw the slices into the cup.

She glanced suspiciously back at the two at the counter. Lila was too busy sucking up to Arnold to notice her sneaky sabotage of her milkshake. She smirked happily and moved back over to the milkshake machine. It buzzed to life as she maneuvered the metal cup in circles to puree the milkshake. She moved back to the refrigerator, her back to them to hide the fact that she was glopping generous amounts of fatty whip cream on top and plopped three perfect little cherries on top. _There,_ she thought, _for the perfect little air-headed princess_.

"For the lady." She slammed the milkshake down between the two.

"Enjoy." She said dramatically, bowing with attitude. Arnold glared at her, unseen by Lila with his back to her. She smiled and pulled the cup towards her, taking a loud slurp.

"I'm gonna head out now Helga." He said slowly. "The replacement cashier should be here any minute. Then you just go home. Okay?"

She glared at his message, crossing her arms as she watched him pull his apron over his head.

"Just like a good little girl?" She said sarcastically. He shot her a testy look as he walked around the counter to stand with Lila.

"Goodbye, Helga. See you later." He said stiffly. Lila threw her arm around his as they walked out the store. She turned to give Helga a cheeky smile and sucked suggestively from her straw as the door shut behind them. Helga stood stiffly behind the counter until they disappeared from sight. Then she picked up the nearest thing and flung it at the wall, hard. The metal cup rung out as it fell on the floor.

"Tough day?" Someone said behind her. She turned to see the other cashier, Alexia, standing behind her.

"The worst." She said darkly, ripping the stupid apron over her head.

"I'm betting it has something to do with that genius redhead who was just in here?" She said jerking her thumb towards the door. Helga fell silent as she folded her apron with a little too much force. Alexia chuckled, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, I've seen her around school. A big pain in the ass. She reminds me of a hippy."

"A hippy?" Helga asked.

"Yeah, all that free love shit she's always going on about. Of course, everyone else loves it but me? Well, I'm not a big fat whore so, yeah." She chuckled again, her short dark curls bouncing around.

"I guess I hadn't heard anything about it." Helga said lowly.

"It looks like you keep a good bit of distance from her, am I right? Not me, I gotta sit right in front of the drooling queen in English. Ugh."

Helga did make an effort to stay away from her. Lila had never been her cup of tea. Her unnecessary bubbliness and optimism and now teenage habit of acting like a valley girl to get attention wore through Helga's patience like a knife through soft cheese. But this was new. She hadn't heard anything about her potential..._hippy_ behavior. Oh what did she care? She hated to admit it but she was curious.

"I think I'm gonna head out then. Are you good?" She asked.

"Oh yeah, I'm good. See you later then." Alexia waved enthusiastically and moved to the counter to wipe it down. Helga walked out onto the street, stomping along as she thought. Although she had a good excuse now why she was always hanging out at the boarding house without Arnold, it still was always awkward to be there without him. She was gonna get to the bottom of this curious little business though. She walked up the front steps and knocked hard.

"Who is it?!" Phil shouted from the other side. He threw open the door and leaned forward to peer into her face.

"Well lookie here everyone! It's Arnold's little girlfriend everyone! What are you doing here, little girlfriend?" He teased.

"Arnold's with some friends. I'm gonna wait here for a bit until he comes home. Do you mind?" She asked smally.

"Of course not. What did I say? Mi casa es su casa. Come on in!" Phil waved her in, walking into the living room.

"We're just playing some poker. You interested?" He asked from his metal seat at their rickety poker table. Mr. Hyunh and Mr. Potts looked up at her, mumbling hellos, and staring back intently at the hands before them.

"Usually I wouldn't pass up a chance to hand it to you Phil."

Phil grasped his heart, feigning shock.

"But I gotta look something up on the internet."

"Next time little girl." Phil pointed at her. She rolled her eyes at him with a smirk and marched up the steps to Arnold's room. She shut the door quietly behind her, glancing around the room suspiciously until her eyes fell onto his laptop sitting innocently at his desk. She plopped down in front of it and threw it open. She glared annoyed at the login screen, knowing she would have to type in the dreaded and idiotic password. She typed it in with her eyes shut and hit enter. It drummed to life and the first site she hit was Facebook. Rhonda was always easily accesible there, the queen of gossip, her smartphone was connected directly so she wouldn't miss a single thing. And of course, there she was in the IM box. She clicked her brooding little face and typed in a message.

**Rhonda, I need your help.**

** Hey there darling, how are you? ;)**

** Just fuckin' peachy. What do you know about Lila?**

** Besides that she's full of shit? lulz**

** Yes, besides that.**

** What are you looking for exactly?**

** Someone told me she's a hippy, talking about free love or some shit.**

** Free love? Oh yes, I know what you mean. Lila isn't a tied down kind of girl. She believes in "multiple loves". She's a serial dater.**

** I don't get it.**

** How about you go to her profile page and tell me what her relationship status is.**

Helga quirked an eyebrow at that but decided to follow her line of thought anyways. She opened the search bar and typed in Lila Sawyer. Her profile popped immediately since they had so many friends in common. Of course her profile information was completely public so she dug into the About Me. Sure enough, right there under Relationship Status, it said **single**.

**Single?**

** As in, not tied down. ;D**

** What are you saying?**

** I'm saying is when Lila says dating and Arnold says dating, they can mean two completely different things.**

She paused, falling back against the chair's back. Did Arnold know that?

**Thanks.**

** Anytime hot stuff. ;D**

She signed off and leaned back in the chair, her arms crossed behind her head. Originally, she had been jealous of Lila obviously. She still had a huge crush on Arnold and any dumb bimbo who came along and stole his attention was definitely on the top of her hitlist. But this time it was different. Arnold was her friend, one of her best friends if she was willing to admit it. And she realized hugely that he was being set up for a catastrophe. He was about to be shut down and hurt badly. And there was nothing she could do about it without coming off as a major bitch, like she always did, like what happened with Summer. She sighed heavily and buried her faces in her arms on the desk.

For the first time in her life, she didn't know what to do. She was stuck and there was nothing she could do about it. And again, it was all her own fault. If she hadn't been such a wicked witch of the west, maybe her friends would listen to her every once in a while.

HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA

Arnold marched along the sidewalk happily, headed for home. His bowtie was a little off queue and his hair a little ruffled but he didn't care. He had just had a wonderful time at Lila's house. They had sat around in her dim living room watching the funniest show about goofy doctors. Half way through though, she had slid to his side of the couch, cuddled up into the crook of his arm, and kissed his cheek. Initially he had been surprised by her bold behavior but in the end, he wasn't complaining. He grinned at the thought of her soft red lips pressed against his, how she had climbed into his lap and let her little hands paw at his chest, gripping his hair to angle his head back as her tongue slipped into his mouth. The boarding house came into sight. His grin faded a little as he spotted the light in his bedroom window. He straightened his tie absentmindedly.

He was not particularly bothered when he came home from his evenings with Lila to Helga in his room. Rationally, he understood that it should seem odd, to be out with his real girlfriend and come home to a pretend one. It was kind of nice though, to come home and have someone to talk to. Their new thing was Scrabble. She was a thousand times better with her outrageous vocabulary but his favorite part was making up nonsense words and daring her to challenge him. The more ridiculous, the harder she laughed. He liked to hear her laugh. It was such a challenge to get that reaction from her. He liked that he could do that. He hoped he could talk her into a game.

"Shortman, is that you!" His grandpa shouted from the living room as he unlocked the front door.

"Who else would it be?" Arnold called back, shaking his head as he smirked.

"The most polite robber we could ever ask for." He shouted. Arnold walked to the foot of the stairs, watching all the guys at a poker table in the living room. Kakoshka was seriously wearing dark circle shaped sunglasses and smoking a cigar.

"Who's winning?" He asked as he took a step.

"Who do you think?" Mr. Potts turned in his chair to roll his eyes at Arnold.

His grandpa cackled as he swooped the pile of chips towards his end of the table.

"Have fun guys." He chuckled as he climbed out of sight.

"You too!" He could hear the guys yell. He knocked on his bedroom door to announce his presence and opened it wide.

"Good evening." He said in a deep voice, wiggling his eyebrows at her. She was on the bed as usual, her back against the bookcase as she wrote. She glanced up at him. She didn't crack a smile though at his greeting. She looked pained.

"Hey." She said quietly, shutting her book and putting it aside.

"How's it going? I'm surprised you're not downstairs playing poker too." He said pulling his work shirt over his head and tossing it into the hamper.

"I wasn't in the mood."

"Really? Everything alright?" He asked. He pinched his wife beater, pulled it to his nose to sniff it. It was still clean so he threw a t-shirt on over it.

"I guess." She shrugged noncommitely, not meeting his gaze. "I talked to Rhonda today."

"Oh? What did she have to say? Please tell me it was about Curly. I love a good crazy Curly story. What'd he do this time?" Arnold grinned at her but still her expression didn't change.

"No." She paused, glancing at him. "She told me some things about Lila."

He shook his head, surprised at the turn of topic.

"Lila? Ya'll talked about Lila?" He plopped down into his desk chair.

"Well yeah. I've been hearing some things." She leaned forward, hugging her legs as she rested her cheek on her knees. He could tell just by the upset look on her face, that this was not about to be one of their best conversations.

"What things?" He asked, hearing the cliche in his ears. It's like they were in a movie, saying the same lines. He knew the answer. He knew it was ugly and yet, he was bracing for something, what he didn't know.

"That she's leading you on. That she's not really committed or interested." She was watching him intently, trying to read his thoughts through his expression.

"She wouldn't do that." The words sounded mechanical.

She sighed heavily, her shoulders slumped as she surveyed him with her head tilted backwards.

"Football head." She said solemnly, her gaze unwavering.

"What?" He asked, feeling the hairs on his neck prickle. He could hear himself getting defensive but couldn't stop it. His body was tensed, he realized vaguely, his fists clenched without having commanded them to be. He stretched his fingers. She watched them wiggle in the air.

"She's playing with you. That's what she does. She seriously believes in "multiple loves". What kind of shit is that?"

"She said she wanted to date!"

"And what do you think that means Arnold?!" She snapped, sitting up upbruptly.

"Dating Helga! It's not fucking rocket science!" He shouted. Maybe if he yelled it loud enough, he could beret her into believing him and leaving it alone.

She was silent as she watched him like a cat waiting to pounce. He glared at her, all calm and rational. _Fuck that_, he thought.

"Has she called you her boyfriend? Did she introduce you to her sweet daddy? Is it Facebook official?" She asked darkly.

"None of that matters." He said quietly.

"No, not as long as she pinches the tip, huh?" She bit out.

"UGH!" He roared, standing suddenly and throwing his arms into the air.

"What is wrong with you!" He spun around to glower down at her. "Why do you do that? Why do you _say_ shit like that?"

Her lips were pressed together in a tight light as she gave him an icy stare.

"If it weren't true, it wouldn't piss you off so much, _Arnoldo_." She whispered dangerously. He took a step back. He didn't know where to go from there. He could sense something in that impersonal stare, the way she had regressed back into the sharp bully he'd once known, there was an issue here that was rubbing him the wrong way. He groaned, falling down into his desk chair and burying his face in his hands.

"I'm getting so tired of this." He groaned.

"And I'm not? You think it's fun watching your overly optimistic venir painting your glasses a rosy pink? You think it's fun always having to watch over you and make sure the world doesn't disappoint your sunny side up view of it?" She said angrily.

"No one asked you to do that." He growled. She narrowed her eyes at him threateningly.

"That's right, no one did. You just walked into my life when I was three and never left. I guess I owe you jack shit then." Her eyes burned with anger. He couldn't bear it anymore, her stare, her presence, her words. He stared at the carpet instead.

"I'm going to Phoebe's."

His head snapped back up.

"I need a break."

She stood up, picking up a knapsack he hadn't noticed and slinging it over her shoulder.

"Call Lila. Or call the Heyerdahls. Whichever comes first." She said and crawled up the steps to the skylight. He watched as she let herself out and disappeared through the hole there. He jumped up angrilly, pacing back and forth as he shot looks up at the skylight. He half expected her to crawl back in, tell him another thing, but she didn't. He kicked his chair suddenly, watching it fly and fall over on the floor.

He hated her. Why was she always hell bent on making him miserable? Every single time he had something good going, she had to try to pop it and ruin it for him. That was the only thing he could count on her for, her disgusting pessimistic attitude she spewed all over everything. He snatched his phone from his desk and flipped it open, dialing Lila's number.

"Hello?" She said cheerfully.

"Lila." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. He was suddenly very tired. Exhausted.

"Can we talk?"

"I would think we already are, Arnold." She said. He could see her laughing in his mind.

"What's going on with us?" He asked, bursting her little flirty bubble.

She was silent for a moment. "What's wrong Arnold?"

He stared up at the ceiling, tugging his own hair a little as he bit his lip.

"Are we a couple or not." He said.

Silence.

"We're just dating Arnold."

His heart fell.

"I know. I have a feeling you mean something different though."

"Arnold." She sighed, a twinge of annoyance in her voice. "I'm not like you. I'm not ready to just settle down. We're young. We should be having fun, not getting so serious."

"Damnit Lila, it's not like I'm asking you to marry me!" He shouted suddenly.

She was silent on the other end. He scrubbed his face with his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly.

"It's okay. I understand you're upset. This is all I can offer right now though." She let that hang in the air. He stared up at the skylight.

"Do you want to do this still?" She asked softly.

"Fine." He surrendered, turning his back.

"Alright. I'll text you, okay?" She asked gently. He nodded, realizing she couldn't see him.

"Sure." He croaked. She hung up. He stared at the phone in his palm. He set it down on the desk, righted the chair, and sat finally.

Sometimes he wondered if everyone could tell how full of shit he was.

Not so perfect.

Just as screwed up.

Arnold, Mr. Serious, casually dating and probably hooking up with the girl he'd been chasing since grade school. His parents would be proud. Helga certainly was.

For the first time in a long time, he buried his face in his hands and cried.

HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA

Author's Note: This was one of my favorite chapters to write. I've always been a fan of moments when Helga has the opportunity to be the better friend and look out for Arnold instead of the other way around. Of course she never handles the moment as well as he does but oh well. lol I also love writing arguments between the two of them. Every bit in a fight has a double meaning with them and I love that. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I do. I love reading your reviews, they really bring a tear to my eye. :)


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